Love is not fur-deep
by Jackofallfables
Summary: In Zootopia, there a young human with a secret. Because of that secret, he was kicked out onto the streets at fifteen and has been homeless ever since. Until, years later, a kind mammal offers him a job at her boarding house. The catch: its an all female boarding house. Will his secret be found out or will he learn to embrace it along with his new family? OCxOCs
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Zootopia or its characters except the OCs that I have created for this story. If I did, I'd be living the high life instead of Disney.**

An elderly tanuki wearing a traditional black kimono walks her usual route down a dark and rainy sidewalk toward the bus stop that would take her home. She holds her pink umbrella above her with one paw as she carries her groceries within her other. A smile spreads across her snout as she spots a familiar shape squatting down in the shadow of the transit station. "Hello Eddie, how are you tonight?" she shouts above the rain patter.

The figure didn't move at the noise. The tanuki again shouted as she walked closer to the mammal sitting on the ground. "Eddie, are you ok? You know better than to let yourself get wet in the Savannah district. It might get hot during the day, but it can get below freezing here at night especially during the rainy season. You'll catch your death!"

She places her bag on the bench and then puts the freed paw on the mammal's shoulder to give him a shake. He lets out a small moan as a shaggy head is raised toward the one interrupted his sleep. The figure was a young, pale human with dark grey eyes. Brown fur was growing from his head and face making him appear older than he actually was. "Oba, why you gotta keep a mammal from his favorite dreams and taking a bath?" the human said.

Oba rolls her eyes, gives the man a slap on the side of the head before walking back to her bag. After a few moments, she pulls out a bottle of water and hands it to the mammal. "Drink," she commanded.

Eddie takes the water without argument. "You need to stop shopping at night, Oba. They have home deliveries now, you know? An old…" he stops as he gets another slap from Oba, this time on the arm.

"Going out is all this 'old' female has, Eddie. Besides, you know that I have all those girls to take care of too," Oba replied as she collapses her umbrella.

The homeless human laughs and takes a swig of the water. "Aren't they in their 20s and 30s? They can take care of themselves and get their own food, you know?"

The tanuki smiles and shakes her head. "That may be, but they are still my children even if not by blood. Most of them have been there at that house for years because of their studies."

Eddie nods as he gets up to get under the awning with Oba. As he stands, it can be seen that he is at least five to six feet tall, while the tanuki stood at around four. He wore an old Zootopia military jacket and torn cargo pants along with an old Led Hippolin t-shirt. His shoes were barely held together with duct tape and bale string. Before he sits, he helps the older female up on bench and then looks around to make sure that there were no suspicious characters coming in their direction. When he saw no one, he sits down next to Oba and lets out a long sigh. "It has been a long few years, Oba. I don't think I can make it another without finding work," he says as he continues to drink the water and look toward the night sky.

Oba stares out through the rain as she listens. She knew that despite the city's iconic slogan 'anyone can be anything', humans without connections had it rougher than foxes because of what happened during the Savage Age. Back then, humans hunted both predator and prey indiscriminately until the other mammals started to become more civilized and fight back. Because of that, mammals became fearful and untrusting toward the human species.

The tanuki turns towards her companion and gives him a look over. Eddie was a decent looking mammal if he would groom himself a little bit. His grey eyes looked sad and distant, as if his very soul was revealing its pain through them. The male sighs as he shakes his head. "How are things at the student housing anyway, Oba?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Things are fine," Oba states, rolling her eyes. She knew that he knew that it wasn't a 'student housing', but a large home that her late husband, Walt Ozamu, had bought and remodeled. Her mate was an artist who did political and comical cartoons for the Zootopia Gazette. The money he made from his works was enough to buy their home, but unfortunately he died shortly afterwards in a car accident leaving her alone in the big home.

Eddie nods and leans back into the bench. Oba continues to look at him, as if she was contemplating something. "Take a picture with your selfie stick umbrella, it'll last longer," the human says, still looking at the night sky with a sad look on his muzzle.

Oba takes the umbrella and hits his right leg with it. "Owwww!" Eddie shouts, rubbing the spot where his assaulted.

"Eddie, how long have we known each other?" Oba asked as she places her weapon back near her bag.

He smiles, showing his square teeth as he laughs. "About three years now why?"

Eddie met Oba shortly after she had started to rent out rooms in her home to young female students from the Animalia Institute. She had been walking alone to the Tundratown Arctic Bank on a cold winter day when a group of thugs had to steal her purse which held all of the money from her tenants. The human had been been scrounging for food in the alley the mugging took place and decided to intervene. Unfortunately, the gang consisted of polar bears who were twice as tall as Eddie and ten times as mean. Luckily it had give Oba time to call the ZPD while the thieves were busy trying to beat him up.

"Why did you do that anyway? What kind of sixteen year old decides to do something like that? You even landed in the hospital with a broken rib cage and bruised organs," Oba asks.

"I don't know," Eddie replied after a moment's thought. "Just felt like the right thing. I mean, you see someone in trouble you just do what you can to help."

Oba shakes her head, frowning at the memory. Before she met him, she thought Eddie's species were all monsters and barbarians who would kill her in a second. But after that day, almost sixty years of ignorance went away in an instance and she has considered Eddie a good friend ever since. She would help out as best she could, but the human would turn down all offers of shelter saying that he would not be an inconvenience to others. In fact, that was when he started calling her Oba, which meant Aunty in Japanese, because she would dot over him like he was a nephew of hers. And like a nephew, Ed would always make sure she was safe when she went out in dangerous weather or into bad parts of town.

"Eddie," she started. "Come and work at my home."

The human looked at her in disbelief. "What?"

"I want you to work as a chauffeur in my home. You'll be there to make sure that my girls are taken care of"

"You want me to be a butler? You're kidding! I don't have a license or a G.E.D.," Eddie said laughing.

"Chauffer not butler, and the girls and I will help you get those," the tanuki said.

"No," Eddie stated. "I will find work somehow elsewhere."

"You are nineteen years old, Ed. You need experience and an education to survive, neither of which you don't have."

"Why do you care? Wouldn't the girls be a little put off by a male 'ape' working in their home? You might lose some tenants if I show up," Eddie crossed his arms stubbornly as if it were final.

"Give my girls some credit. If predators and prey can get along, then they can certainly tolerate you," Oba rebuttled.

"No."

"How about this: you come and work for me for one year; you'll get a warm bed, free meals, meet beautiful females, and an education to be able to stand on your stubborn feet," Oba stated, trying to hide her frustrations.

Eddie flinched at the 'beautiful females.' He looked uncomfortable for a few moments as he thought about Oba's offer. The mammal has been on the streets for almost five years now, the reason why he never told the tanuki and he doubted he ever will. He knew he needed all the things that Oba said, but he didn't want to take a handout. One thing he prided himself on was that he did not take any charity or unfair advantage over mammals. It was thing to accept water and the occasional meal, but what the old female was offering was too much and he couldn't ever be able to repay her for it.

He sighs, "Why do you want to do this?"

Oba smiles as she says, "You are my friend, Ed. Let me help you. You are sleeping in the rain, you have no money or food, and no idea where you'll sleep tonight." Her voice begins to wave as she continues, "I'll admit, I am being a little selfish in that I don't want to find you no longer here because you've been killed or had gotten sick. I want you to take care of yourself the right way. I should have dragged you home sooner, but I am getting too old and I want to make sure everyone I love is taken care of."

"You aren't going anywhere, you old raccoon dog," Eddie smiles sadly.

"Edward Jackson, shut up. I'm getting older and I don't know when I'll be joining Walty. I want to take care of everything that is important in my life before it ends," Oba began to stare at Eddie with large brown eyes, tears beginning to form around the edges.

A large Gray Owl bus begins to stop where the two mammals sat, the rain finally beginning to let up. The tanuki sighs and starts to grab her bag. Before she does, Ed grabs it and says, "Ok."

She stares in amazement at the human. "Really?" she asked, surprised.

"Yes," Ed smiles, sadness showing through his eyes, "You're wrong though, you are not selfish to try and make sure someone you care is ok. It's selfish of me for trying to refuse. I need to stop being prideful in order to help myself."

"Good," the tanuki bopped the umbrella on Ed's head, "Don't make me regret it."

"You won't," Ed laughs as he rubs his forehead.

The bus finally stops, the doors opening to show a rhino bus driver who shouted, "Last stop before Meadowlands!"

The young human helps his new employer down the bench and then up the bus's steps, earning a disgusted look from the driver which was ignored by both mammals. "So how many girls live there anyway?" Ed asked as he and Oba sat at the back of the bus.

"Seven females, all medium to small mammals, which I'm sure a young, strong male can handle driving around to school and on errands," Oba replied. "By the way, there is some toiletries for you in that bag you are carrying for me," she continued with a sly smile on her snout.

All Ed could do was shake his head as he searched through the groceries. He should've known that old trickster planned for him to say yes. Then he looked up from in shock toward Oba. "Seven!? Please tell me that they are married or taken."

"Nope, boyfriends are not allowed in the house while they are living there so they don't bother with dating anyway. Plus, they're too young to be thinking about marriage."

Ed gulped. He was a dead mammal walking if those girls ever found out his secret. Almost an hour of silence passed before the Gray Owl, finally arrived at their destination. "Last stop!" the rhino bellowed.

"Come on, Eddie," Oba said as she jumps off her seat and straightens her kimono. "The girls are probably asleep now anyway, so I'll introduce in the morning. You can get settled in one of the spare bedrooms I have for when the girls have guests coming over."

The two walked down the sidewalk until they arrived at what appeared to be...a field with a few small hills. "Ummmm, Oba? Where's the house?" Ed asked as looks all around for his new dwelling. He noticed that most of the Meadowlands was just that: meadows with a few small cottages whose lights could be seen in the distant.

Oba laughs as she takes out her keys from inside her kimono. She press a button on one, which causes a light to illuminate to a door that was build into one of the hills. Ed stared in disbelief. "It's underground?!" he asked.

"Parts of it is, yes," Oba replied, "Parts of the house is covered in earth to conserve on energy. Walty wanted to keep in touch with our primal roots but also have modern conveniences as well."

As they walk closer to the light, Ed realised that she was right. The door that looked like it was in the hill was actually part of a wooden wall that blended with the grass and ground. When Oba Ozamu told him it was huge with three stories with gardens all around, he had assumed it was three stories tall not deep and that the gardens were not on the house.

"Well, here's to new beginning," he mumbles as he follows his employer to his new home.

 **There you go, my first fanfiction so please be merciful in the reviews and comments. I haven't decided on which species the seven girls will be so any suggestions are welcomed, but I do plan on referencing the events in the movie and to have NickxJudy in future chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Zootopia or anything Disney else I would be in the money**

Eddie followed Oba through the open door and into a decent sized area known as a genkan. The older mammal placed the umbrella she had been carrying in a small closet that held also held the indoor shoes. He looked down at his shoes before setting down the bag and squatting down to take them off. The shoes were nothing more than cardboard and baling string at this point, but until he got another pair they were all he had. "Here," Oba said from behind.

The human looked over his shoulder to see the tanuki handing a pair of house shoes that looked to be about his size. He takes before saying, "Thank you, Oba."

"Dinata," the mammal replied before placing her own shoes on her feet.

After they are done, Oba grabs Eddie's old pair and threw them in a trash can that for some reason was placed by the door. "He…" Eddie started to say.

"You'll have more shoes in the room I am taking you," she interrupted as she takes his free hand to guide him down the hall.

Eddie was glad that the tanuki was there, because if she wasn't he would have been lost within a few seconds. They past by so many different rooms, that it was impossible to keep tract. "I thought you said your husband was a newspaper artist," Eddie asked as he was guided past what looked to be a large library filled to the brim with book laden shelves.

"He was, and when he moved on to the next life I inherited the copyrights to his creations," Oba replied as she took him past an underground zen garden, which appeared to be illuminated by the evening moon even though Ed knew they were underground.

"Oh yeah? Which ones?" he asked when they finally stopped in front of a plain looking door.

"None you'd be familiar with, I'm sure," Oba said, grinning as she continued to brag on her late husband's work.

"Try me."

"Astro Pup, Freddy Frog and Black Jackrabbit to name a few," she replied as she opened the door.

"What!?" Eddie shouted.

Those characters were all part of the Saturday morning cartoons that the human watched when he was a little kit. Ed smiled as he thought back on some of his favorite episodes he had when he was growing up. "Shhhh," Oba scolded as she hit his arm. "You'll wake the girls up with your screaming."

"Sorry, it's just that I thought that the creator for those toons was a black fox not a tanuki," Eddie said puzzled as he thought back on what little he knew of Walt Osamu.

"Walter was," Oba said sadly as she walked into the room. "It's the reason we could never have cubs of our own."

"Oh, I so sorry, Oba," Ed said as he followed regretting his statement.

"It's ok, Eddie, you didn't mean any harm. When Walter and I first met, I was just a simple secretary and he a struggling artist. Back in the 30s, interspecies relationships were still illegal in the country, so we were never officially married until years later. By the time we had our wedding ceremony, Walt had already made his fortune in his animated creations despite being both a fox and an orphan. Oh, Walty was such a handsome devil in his suit that day," Oba explained as she turned on the light for the room. "Anyway, when he had that accident, he left everything to me to do as I saw fit. Since I was a housewife and no work experience since we had gotten married, I decided to live off of the royalties and improve on myself."

Eddie looked around the room as the tanuki told her story. It was a good sized bedroom, painted and decorated in a dark blue color scheme with plenty of space for him to move around in. There was a large, king sized bed against the far wall; a dresser on the opposite side with a mirror on top; and a small empty bookcase with a small flat screen on top of it standing next to what he assumed was the bathroom door. Something about Oba's story made him pause. "How did your family take it when you married Walter?" he asked as he finally set the grocery bag on the bed.

Oba frowned before answering, "They didn't like it at first, but foxes and tanuki in Japan had always gotten along that it didn't really matter in the end to them. Though we still got looks from most mammals for years until the Loving Law was passed."

"Loving Law?" Eddie asked, sitting down on the bed next to the bag as he continued to listen.

"Oh, it doesn't matter. The past is in the past and all we can do is learn and move on. Anyway, there are fresh clothes in the closet and the communal bath is four doors down on your right as you leave the room in case you want to groom yourself," Oba said as she walked towards the door. "I'll come by in the morning to introduce you to all the girls and to get you a good old fashioned breakfast before we get started on getting your G.E.D.," and with that she closed the door on the confused human.

"He is in for quite a surprise in the morning," she thought, "My girls will just eat him alive if he is not careful. Well, maybe not literally." The tanuki let out a small giggle as she walked toward her own private room on the other side of the mansion.

Back in the Blue Room, as Eddie was starting to call it, the mammal rummaged through the grocery bag and found an electric and a regular razors, shaving gel, shampoo and conditioner as well as a bar of soap. He wasn't all that surprised to find the razor though. Despite having fur all over their bodies, most males as least trim and cut off the hair all over to make themselves more presentable and often shaved their chest and stomachs since clothing caused some mammals irritation. Humans were a little different in that they shaved all the fur off their face during the summer and spring months and trim the hair on top of their heads and not the rest of their bodies since there usually wasn't much anyway.

Eddie walks toward the closet and finds quite a bit of clothes, neatly hanging and organized by color and style. The human shakes his head again as he grabs a large bathrobe. "That old hag really did plan ahead for me to say yes," he murmurs.

After placing the robe next to the toiletries, he walks to the dresser mirror and stares at his reflection. Five years on the streets did not do him a lick of good in the looks department, he thought to himself. His beard was a little bit scruffy, and the brown hair on the top of looked like a bird's nest with all the grass and leafs still in it. He sighs again as he takes of his t-shirt, revealing a terrible sight. Five years definitely did not improve his looks. Scars zig zagged across his arms and chest, making him look like he was a road map of the Zootopia subway lines. Most were just scratches he had gotten from other homeless mammals that tried to steal both space and food from him. Sometime he won, often times he lost. He turned his body, revealing an even more devastating site: across his back were deep cuts that were caused by something other than claws. From his shoulders to down to his lower back, the marks didn't make any particular pattern or sense. Eddie shuddered as memories and words came flooding into his mind.

"Pervert! Beast! Freak!"

He turned back around to show only his front side in his reflection. Those scars marked him for what he was among other humans, and if any one of them were to see them they were to kill him on site. Eddie never showed them to any other mammal, even though he knew they might not understand it. He was afraid that if someone randomly saw it, they might accidently tell another human and that would be even more trouble than it was worth. The human places his paws on the dresser, trying his hardest to keep from shaking.

Eddie was here to do a job and that was it. He wasn't there to make friends, wasn't there to socialize. Oba brought him in to drive the girls from point A to point B, and nothing more. The mammal told himself this over and over to distract himself from the sickening feeling in his gut. He hadn't felt this way in a long time, but for some reason, after hearing Oba's story, he knew that maybe he could be himself and maybe, just maybe... "No," he said, banging a fist on the wooden dresser. "You can not have those feeling, the last time you did someone got hurt and now you will have to live with that for the rest of your damned life! You don't know anything about these girls, so stop acting like a horny teen and man up!"

Besides, he thought to himself, any female who could afford to pay rent here wouldn't even give him the time of day.

 _Some time later_

Eddie walked down the hallway, in search for the 'communal baths' that Oba had told him about. He had gotten rid of the beard growing on his face and shaved his fur on top of head until it close to his scalp. Thankfully there was a wastebasket at the foot of his bed so he could sweep up and throw his hair away in. He then had put on a white bathrobe and begun to search for a nice, warm soak.

Finally, Ed approached a sliding silk door with scenes of crocodiles, frogs and the like painted on it. "Really gaudy, Oba. Really gaudy."

He opens the door, which revealed a changing area where mammals could put their change of clothes before they go in for a soak beyond another set of doors. Eddie didn't feel comfortable putting his robe in one of the lockers, so he decided to take it with him to the bathing area. After going past the second doors, he saw something he truly did not expect: an underground hot springs! A large, olympic size shallow pool with small boulders dotting throughout the area. The floor was covered in mosaic tiles in the shape of large Asian dragon, slithering toward the water. Warm steam filled the air as a waterfall feed the bath at the far side of the room. "How much fucking money does that old raccoon dog have?!" Eddie shouted in disbelief, imagining Oba giving a shiteating grin and thumbs sign as she's showing it off.

Sighing, he takes off the robe and set it on the floor at little bit away from bath to keep it from getting wet. Eddie gingerly steps into the warm water, letting his body get used to the temperature before going completely in. He literally could not remember the last time he had taken a bath, showers sure, but not a nice warm bath to where you can relax. The young mammal allowed his body to float toward the waterfall, smiling as the springs cascaded over his exposed skin. The cacophony kept Ed from hearing the doors opening and the patter of paws walking across the tile.

 _Author's Note: Walt Osamu is inspired by both Walt Disney and Osamu Tezuka, both of whom have been inspirations in my life and I hope will continue to inspire more people. I plan on having my Walt be as much an inspiration to my character as well but I haven't decided how yet, so any suggestions are more than welcome. I also still haven't decided what species most of the residents of Oba's home will be so any ideas for those will be welcome too. Thank you for the support!_


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Zootopia...but a man can dream can't he?**

 _Before Eddie entered the hot springs_

Jillian Hopps groaned in frustration as she stared at her tablet screen. The grey bunny hated school work. No, she loathed it. Her college professor, Mr. Beaverton, had assigned his class to do a mammal interest story as part of their course in professional journalism. The whole point of the paper was to tell both an original and unique subject matter that shed light on the city's political issues. Jill, as those close to her called her, could not for the life of her come up with a single sentence for her paper.

The bunny sighs again after she closes her computer and pushed away from her desk to look around the room she rented from Mrs. Osamu. The bedroom was larger than what she was used to growing up with, but Jill happy to have all of the furniture and extra space. She had decorated everything from the curtains to the bedspread with a farm and produce theme to remind of her family's home. Though, she really missed her two hundred plus siblings and her parents, she sure as heck didn't miss the crowdedness she had growing up. It felt good to finally have her own space!

A knock came from her door, giving her another excuse to not work on her project. Before she answers, she takes a glance at the mirror hanging above the desk. It revealed what some mammals said was a beautiful, five foot tall rabbit with grey and white fur, a small pink nose, and bright orange eyes. As much as she and her siblings looked alike, they were just as unique as the stars in the skies, as their parents once said. Jill was so different from her more famous sister Judy in that while she wanted to be a cop, Jill wanted to be a reporter. In fact, one of the things the siblings argued the most over was Jill wanting Judy to give her inside tips for drug raids or murder trials. Jill biggest dream was to report the breaking story in the most dangerous regions of the world, places that even large mammal soldiers had trouble surviving in. Her thoughts were interrupted by another, this time louder, knock. "Coming," she called as she walked over.

On the other side of the wooden door was the elderly tanuki. "Oh, hello, Mrs. Osamu," Jill greeted her landlady.

"Jill, you know I keep telling you to call me Abby," Oba said as she rolled her eyes, "Mrs. Osamu makes me feel older than I should be. I'm only in my sixties you know?"

Jill laughed at Oba's comments. "Sorry, Abby, but you know how us farmers can be about manners. My parents would have a fit if they thought I wasn't respecting my elders. Anyway, is something wrong?" the bunny asked in a concerned voice.

"No dear, I just saw that your lights were on from underneath the door and I wanted to check on you. How goes the term paper?"

"Not good," Jill replied, her ears flattening against the back of her head.

"Oh, writer's block I take it?"

"You have no idea," the rabbit moan her forehead banging on the door in frustration. "I can't think of anything good! There's nothing that hasn't been done already when it comes to puff pieces like this and I have to come up with something original."

"You know what my Walter did when he had the same problem?" Oba said after a moment's thought. "He would take a nice long soak in our hot springs. Claimed the steam and warmth cleared his head of all the negativity and allowed him to come up with better ideas."

"Huh," Jill said. Abby's suggestion wasn't a bad one, but Jill didn't feel comfortable going to the large bath by herself. She always felt like someone was watching her or hiding in the steam. Too many horror movies, she supposed.

"Someone say hot spring?" a voice asked from further down the hall.

The two mammals looked and saw a tigress and a female hyena walking towards them. The hyena stood at around six feet tall while wearing a simple green sweatshirt and jogging pants with black and brown fur all over her body. She also had tribal style piercings on both her left eye and right ear, giving her a punk rocker type look. Her yellow eyes looked as if they were always shifting as looking for something to play with. "Cause me and Princess here were just on our way," the hyena continued letting a small giggle at the comment.

The tigress however, towered above all the other females at about seven feet but still seem to be the most feminine and graceful. She wore a traditional blue saree, with gold designs embroidered throughout the fabric, which matched her own stunning eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you that I am not a princess, Lina?" the statuesque female huffed and placed both paws on her hips in frustration, as if it was the hundredth time she said that.

"Until either you stop dressing like one or it stops being funny, whichever comes first, Nika," the hyena replied, looking up and still grinning at what she thought was a witty comment.

"Girls, behave," Oba commanded.

Suddenly both females straightened at the tanuki's tone and said in unision, "Sorry, Abby."

Jill giggled at the two's reaction. She never stopped enjoying hanging out with her housemates, despite the fact they all had completely different backgrounds. Most of the females came from either wealthy families or were successful in their own fields, but Jill didn't have to pay because of her sister's partner. Nick Wilde really did seem to know everyone in Zootopia, and when he learned that Jill needed a place to stay while she was studying at the university, he knew just the mammal to talk to. She didn't know how he knew Mrs. Osamu, but she was grateful that the crafty fox managed to help her not have to pay any of the fees. When Judy asked why he didn't help her find a new place when she moved back to the city after the Nighthowler Crisis, Nick just replied, "Well, then you wouldn't have thought to stay with me, Carrots." That had earned him a punch to the arm.

The bunny giggled again at the memory as she said, "Abby here was just suggesting that I go in for a soak to help out my poor noggin."

"Excellent," Nika replied as she clapped her paws together in excitement. "Lina and I could not sleep and we thought that maybe the springs could help us relax."

Both Nika and Lina shared a large bedroom one floor below and because of that they could be heard arguing and joking throughout the whole mansion. While Nika was extremely girly and a bit of a neat freak, Lina was the opposite and kept her side of the room in utter chaos. Despite their differences, the two managed to stay friends and become some of Oba's longest staying residents.

Lina rolls her eyes, "By 'could not sleep', you mean staying up and reading the latest James Ratterson trash, then yeah."

"Oh, trash you say? Isn't that what you were listening to without headphones?" Nika replied.

"Steampunk rock, not trash," Lina glared.

"Girls," Oba warned. The tanuki was not in the mood to listen to the two bicker over petty nonsense.

"Would you like to join us, Abby?" Jill asked, ignoring the gagging faces the tigress and hyena were making at her question.

"That's sweet dear, but no. I'm heading off to bed. You three have fun though," Oba replied as she walked away.

Lina shivered after the landlady turned a corner further down the hall. "That is one thing I never want to see," she said.

"What?" Jill asked smiling up at the two predators.

"That old maid naked," Lina replied, earning a hearty laugh from the other two.

 _Later_

The trio had made their way to the hot springs bath and were getting undressed in the changing area. As they were taking off their clothes, Jill noticed how attractive her housemates were. Lina had a very nice set of hips, breasts that were a least a C, and her stomach was very muscular as if she did a lot of working out. The hyena always seemed to have no shortage of admirers, but she turned them down when they couldn't handle her lifestyle or her adoptive family.

Nika, again despite her height, looked as if every part of her was sculpted to be an artist's model. The tigress had an amazing hourglass figure, with the stripes on seem to emphasize her curves even more and the her white fur of her stomach going all the way up between her DD breasts. Many males were fooled into thinking that they'd have their way with her because of her looks and sweet personality. Let's just say that the feline was waiting for that special someone and she was not the kind of mammal to just give it up for anyone, even though she was in her late twenties.

Jill looked down at her own body and smiled. She didn't like to brag, but she had a sexy pair of thighs and a decent sized pair of breasts that were at least a B that made more than a few bucks back in the Burrows go crazy. But like her companions, she was going to wait for that one buck who will make her feel like she was the center of the whole world and sweep her off her paws.

They all sighed, looked at eachother, then laughed. "You were thinking on why we don't have boyfriends?" Lina asked, smiling as she opened the second set of doors.

Nika seemed to blush slightly as she replied, "Yes, why is that do you think?"

"Too picky, I guess," Jill said while skipping across the tile toward the springs.

"Yeah, ain't that the truth," Lina grinned as she dipped her toes slowly into the warm water.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Nika jumps in spraying water all over the two other females. "Hey!" they shouted.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist," the tigress replied as she enjoyed the warmth surrounding her.

"I'll never understand why you tigers seem to be the only felines who enjoy water," Jill said as she got into the water with her friend who was swimming toward the waterfall.

"Yeah, those pussies sure do laugh getting wet," Lina laughed as she waded in after them.

 _Meanwhile_

Eddie had pulled himself behind the waterfall feature and sat upon one of the rocks. He had positioned himself in the lotus stance like his father had taught him a long time ago, when he was a cub. The human thought this would be the best chance he would get to meditate since he had not done so in a long time. The city streets were not a place for reflecting but for surviving and he had been doing that for almost five years now. He takes a deep breath and starts to concentrate. He tried to think only on the sound of the water cascading down the rocks and into the pool, to not focus on his fears and doubts. He will not disappoint Oba, he will become better than those who have done him harm and he will control his urges. Eddie repeats this again and again in his mind as if it were a mantra.

The meditation was interrupted only by the sound of a gasp coming from right in front of him. When he opened his eyes, Eddie something he thought he'd never see in his life. Something that caused his whole pale body to turn bright red, and it was not because of the heat. There, standing before him, was a tall and beautiful tigress with beautiful sapphire eyes. A naked tigress. Suddenly, Eddie's mind went blank and not because of the meditation. All he could say to the female was, "Hi, how are you doing?"

"EEEEEEEK!" the feline yelled, leaping backward from the mammal.

"Oh shit," the human mumbled.

 _Outside the waterfall_

"EEEEEEEK!" Nika jumps away from the waterfall, cause her two friends to look up in surprise. "There's a...a...monster!"

"What the…" Lina started to say when the water exploded out from the feature.

Steam and water temporarily blinded the three female, until they say a shadowy figure seeming to jump from boulder to the other. "Hey you!" Lina shouted as she threw a bath brush toward the figure's head, making a solid thunk as it did so.

The creature landed in the water and seemed to disappear below its surface. The mammals waited with Nika panting as she tried to control her fear and trembling while Lina scanned for any sign of the intruder. Another scream sounded, this time coming from Jill. The thing had somehow swum past the two predators and looked as if it was heading straight for the bunny. It finally surfaced right in front of Jill, gasping for air as it did so. The mammals had never seen such a thing before. Standing at about Lina's height, it was pale and didn't appear to have any hair on its face or on the rest of its body. The thing that stood out most though, at least to Jill, were his (cause it clearly was a male) eyes: grey and full of surprise and...fear?

"What the.." the creature said, before a grey foot landed squarely on its chest.

The best thing about having Judy Hopps for a sister: learning to defend yourself from other, larger mammals. Jill had jumped, without even thinking about it, and kicked the intruder so hard that she pushed it straight back into Lina. The mammal's skin seem to redden as he felt Lina's chest press against his back. The hyena started to wrap her arms around the assailant. "You aren't going anywhere," she shouted.

Suddenly, the creature ducked before Lina could grab him and jumped toward the edge of the spring. It landed on the tilework and grabbed a white robe that was on the floor before running towards the entrance. "I am so sorry!" he shouted before exiting.

All three females waded through the water and started to follow. Lina continue to follow her quarry without putting on clothes. "Wha...what was that thing?" Nika asked as she wrapped a large enough towel over her body.

"I don't know," Jill said as she rummaged through her pants, "And I don't care."

The bunny searched her contacts before selecting a number titled 'Jude the Dude.' After a few rings, a voice answered, "Hello?"

"Judy! There's an intruder in Mrs. Osamu's house! Please hurry!"

 _Author's Note: I want to thank Tremainj for helping me out with suggestions for the species of Eddie's future love interests and to all the positive reviews I have gotten since this starting this story. Let's hope that Lina or Judy don't kill Eddie. Hahaha_


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Disney or any of its properties, cause if I did I would be in Las Vegas right now.**

 **XXXXX = change of view**

 _Meanwhile in the Rainforest District_

Night patrol was so boring! Especially if it was in the second wettest neighborhood in the whole city during the rainy seasons! Back in his hustling days, Nick Wilde stayed away as much as he could from the District because he knew that the other less than reputable mammals were not wanting to do business in the rain. Thank God that they were in a police cruiser and not on foot patrol, though it was still cold thanks to the car being turned off to save on gas. Zootopia's first fox officer gave his partner, the first rabbit officer Judy Hopps, an exasperated look. "Why did Buffalo Butt give us this assignment?"

Judy rolls her eyes. "Maybe it's because you released that video of the Chief dancing and getting drunk at the Gazelle concert," the grey bunny replied, a twinkle of laughter in her violet eyes as she recalled the video the fox had sent to her Furbook page.

"You've got to admit that the Chief's 'one hot dancer," Nick said, giving her his signature cocky grin.

Nick had somehow gotten his paws on the video of Chief Bogo and then sent it to every officer in Precinct 1, causing the water buffalo to shout so loud that it might have broken the sound barrier. Totally worth it, until the Nick and Judy got their current assignment. At least it wasn't parking duty like the rabbit did on her first day.

"At least I get to spend time with my favorite carrot, Carrots," the fox said as he wraps an arm around his partner and girlfriend who sat in the driver's seat of the cruiser.

"Nick!" Judy exclaimed as she was pulled closer.

The two have been dating since shortly after they had arrested Flash the sloth for his speed racing earlier that year. After Nick had graduated from the Academy, the fox soon realized that without Judy in his life outside of work he would be miserable. He knew that the city might still have prejudices, but he was still more than willing to face them if he had the cute little rabbit at his side. It took nearly all his courage to ask the bunny out on their first date and to his surprise she felt the same way that he felt about her.

Judy heart fluttered as Nick held her close to his chest to help her stay warm in the cold weather. She knew that together with her tod, they could face anything anyone threw at them. As she was about to give Nick a kiss on his muzzle though, her cellphone rang. "Ugh!" Judy said as she pulled it out of her back pocket and saw that it from her sister Jill.

"Maybe she wants an inside tip on the Rainforest District's nightlife?" Nick joked as Judy scooted away from him so she could answer.

"Hello?"

Nick could hear Jill's voice shouting through the speaker, even though he couldn't quite catch the words. Suddenly his doe says, "We're on our way, keep track of him and don't let him get away!" before starting the engine and turning on the sirens.

"What's going on?!" Nick asked as he slid across seat before he put on his seatbelt.

"Jill just said that someone broke into Mrs. Osamu's home! We need to get to the Meadowlands now!"

 _Back at Oba's_

Eddie continued down the mansion's halls as he was running for his life. The hyena he had 'bumped' into at the springs was still chasing him and did not appear to be letting up. He could hear the stereotypical laugh getting closer as he descended into the lower floors. Thankfully he was able to put on the robe and some shorts after he had gotten out the water. The human had given up on trying to find his room since he had gotten lost in his panic. "Damn you, Oba! When I get my paws on you, I'm going to kill you cause this is all your fault!" Eddie said to himself, knowing that the tanuki had something to do with this.

His chest was still hurting from where the bunny had kicked him, making it harder to breathe as he continue to escape from his pursuer. If living on the streets had taught him one thing it was this: no matter what you had to be able to outrun anyone that was after you, whether it was the police or other homeless mammals, in whatever condition you were in. One time, Eddie managed to out maneuver, while having a sprained ankle, a cheetah officer that was trying to arrest him for loitering outside a laundromat.

After going down a flight of stairs toward a lower floor, Eddie looked around and tried to get his bearings. The walls and floor seemed to made of the same wooden materials as the upper floor so it was to tell that the two apart, except for the for the fact that it was cooler which signaled the difference in ground level, he supposed. The mammal spotted a large open wooden door that seemed to lead to another library, this one bigger than the one that Oba had taken him past earlier in the evening. He enters, closing the door as quietly as possible so as not to alert the hyena of his location.

The human takes a few deep calming breaths to try and control his heart beating out of his aching chest. A few moments later, Eddie heard the loud patter of paws and the panting of the predator as she shouts, "Where the hell did you go you pervert?!"

Eddie felt himself twitch when she called him that. Pervert? Thinking back on what had happened, he felt himself get redder as he remembered seeing the females without their clothes on and they without his. He facepalms himself as the hyena runs in the opposite direction of the room he was hiding in. Oh God, he was going to be fired before he even started working.

He sighs as he begins to take in his surroundings, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. Shelves and shelves lined the walls, bookcases that were at least twelve feet tall and carpets that felt warm against the human's bare feet. The library felt more like a sanctuary or a church right now to Eddie as he walked slowly toward the center of the room. Eddie wasn't used to the quiet though. It was a quiet like you were the only one in the world and if you made any loud noise, you'd be punished severely for it. Though in his case, that might actually happen if he was not careful.

As he continues to explore, he notices a warm glow coming from the far side. Eddie moves toward it thinking that maybe it was the tanuki and perhaps she would be able to keep the crazed hyena at bay.

 _At the library's far end_

Aziza Simba laid curled up in one of her favorite chairs as she was reading a novel by the light of an electric fireplace built into the wall of the library she was in. The lioness was happy to finally have some down time after a long day in the research department of her company. She sighs as she closes the book, takes off her glasses to place in her emerald robe and leans back into her chair. Aziza's business was having trouble with the development of a new product that could take it to the next level. The company specialized in customizing medical equipment to be used for and by the various species of world. For example, they had just created a robotic surgeon that was designed for an elephant vet so he or she could operate on patients a quarter their size. The same concept could be used in reverse for a mouse surgeon to operate on someone a hundred times larger than them. The problem they faced wasn't with the size difference but with the number of digital paws on different species. Some had three and others had five, so it made it harder to create a program that can translate the different placements of different user's controllers and paws.

But as much as she loved working for her company (troubles and all), she really wished that she had someone close to share it with. Simba females were an independent short, but that didn't mean that she didn't feel lonely from time to time. Aziza always seem to intimidate lion males with her intelligence and fascination with veterinary science.

The lioness lets out a small moan as she hears pawsteps moving closer to where she was laying. It was probably either Lina, the damned hyena, or that annoying arctic fox Skye. Both of them loved to annoy the hell out of her with stupid pranks, especially Lina. Hyenas and lions have never gotten along, no matter how much advancements mammals have made over the millennia, some prejudices refused to die. "Lina, I swear by the Creator if you are…." Aziza said as she turns her head, a growl forming on her muzzle, but stopped when saw who it was.

There, standing between two bookcases, was a strange but familiar looking mammal wearing a white robe. The lioness gasped and gets up from her seat as she realises what the creature was: a human. Aziza had only seen one living human in her life and that was at a university seminar on Ancient Mammalian History. The lecture had given her a deep fascination for humans, especially in how they seem to be able to adapt to any environment. In fact, the visiting professor had been an elderly, dark skinned female human named Thelma Mandela, who had given the speech on how other mammals had influenced her species' development and survival. The human before her now was much younger with pale white skin and a male.

Aziza noticed that human was about to run. "Wait," she said, making him stop.

 _XXXXXX_

The human walked toward the light he had seen and finally arrived in a small reading area with chairs of various sizes and a small electric heater that gave a soft glow. On one of the larger chairs, a lioness wearing a green robe stared at him with a snarl on her face before . "Oh shit," he said as he started to run again before being stopped by a soft voice.

Eddie turned in surprise, seeing the lioness get up and walk toward him. Just a head shorter than the tigress from earlier, but just as beautiful and seemingly graceful. The robe was opened in the front, revealing a C sized chest, but she didn't look as if she noticed. Her yellow fur glowed golden in the light of the heater, making her look as if her body was made of the precious metal. Her brown eyes were focussed on him as if he were a specimen to be examined under a piece of glass. "Or like prey," he thought as he backed into one of the shelves whilst she moved closer.

"Aziza," the lioness spoke, her face now close to his.

"What?" Eddie said, scared at what the feline would do next.

"My name is Aziza Simba, what is yours?" she asked, placing a paw under his chin.

"Ed..Edward Jackson," he stutter, his skin blushing as he felt the lioness's paw brush against it.

"Hmmm," she replied. "Age?"

"Huh?"

"There you are!"

Both mammals turned to see a naked hyena standing at the end of the aisle. "You've caught him, Azi? Good, cause I'm going to rip his throat out for sneaking into this house!"

"Here we go again," Eddie mumbled before being pulled into the lioness's embrace.

"You will not lay a paw on this beautiful human, Lina!"

"Beautiful?" Eddie said, though his voice was muffled with the fur covering his mouth.

The hyena let out a moan, "I know you need a boyfriend, but that doesn't mean that you go after the first male you see! Besides he's…gone?"

Aziza looked down and saw that the human had slipped through her arms. Both females heard the library door open and slam shut. "He's very fast isn't he?" the lioness placed a paw on her cheek, smiling as she looked at the frustrated hyena.

"When I get him!" Lina growled.

"Not before I do," Aziza said, running toward the door leaving behind a confused looking canid.

 _Outside the library_

Eddie was getting tired of all this running. So far he'd been kicked, hunted, and he thought hit on by several female mammals, all in the space of an hour! God, he was going to kill Oba.

He made it down another flight of spiral stairs before he remembered that this would have been the final floor of the underground home. He could hear two sets of paws running toward him, as well as two voices arguing about what to do when they caught him. The human was trapped, trapped like a rat in maze if you'll pardon the expression. At the end of the hallway, there was a metal door that looked like it might be an elevator. Perfect, he thought. He could take the elevator back to the first floor and avoid his two pursuers.

The mammal tries find a button to open the door, but to no avail. He bangs on the metal in frustration. Could this night get any worse? Suddenly, a panel on the right hand side of the door opens to reveal a camera pointed right him.

 _Other side of the camera_

An arctic vixen stares at her screen in disbelief. She was just finishing cleaning her gun that was issued her at the ZBI (Zootopia Bureau of Investigation), when she heard the banging on her steel door. Without taking her black eyes off her work, Skye Savage presses a button and a computer next to her showed what was outside her room. "What do you want?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"Um, hello?" a male voice answered.

Skye looked at the screen and was surprised to see a pale human with no fur on the image. "Who the.." she started to say.

"Please," the human said, "It's a huge misunderstanding. I'm Oba's, I mean Mrs. Osamu's new driver. Now, I've got two females chasing me all over the house and need to contact that old tanuki before they get their paws on me!"

"Why did he call Osamu his aunt?" Skye thought as she examined the male through the camera lens.

She saw that he unarmed and was only dressed in a white bathrobe and shorts. Skye had spent years learning to read other mammals and whether or not they were telling the truth, so she was able to see that he was being honest on this being a misunderstanding. However, the male's eyes reminded her of something, or rather someone she knew long ago, but couldn't quite place it. The fox heard some shouts that were coming from behind the human and saw his reaction to them before making a decision. "Alright," she said, "Just don't touch anything."

 **XXXXXXX**

Eddie let out a huge sigh of relief as he stepped through the sliding metal door. "Thank you, God," he gasped before hearing the click of a gun hammer to his right.

"God? Nope, afraid that I'm the one you should be thankin' sweetie," said a flat-chested arctic vixen wearing a black shirt with the letters ZBI printed on the front and matching pajamas.

The human looked up at the ceiling in disbelief. "Why me?" he started to cry.

 _Back on the first floor_

Abby 'Oba' Osamu opened the front door to greet the both Officers Wilde and Hopps. The two must have broken several speed limits in order to make it to the elderly mammal's home, at least that's what Nick thought. The fox has never seen Judy get so worried in his life, not even when Bellwether had sicked her goon rams after them in the museum. "Hey there Abby," Nick gave his friend a soft smile before continuing, "Afraid this isn't a social visit. We just got a call from Jill saying that there was an intruder in the house."

The tanuki looked confused at the fox's statement, "Intruder? There isn't an intruder in my home. Wilde, you know that I am much better at making sure I have top notched security protecting my home, especially since I have seven girls living with me," Oba huffed.

"Could someone had snuck in while you or the girls were out?" Judy said concerned and anxious about Jill's safety.

Before Oba could answer, Jill and Nika walked up behind, still wet from their bath. "Thank goodness you're here! There is a creature running throughout the house!" the tall tigress said still trembling from both the cold and the encounter.

"What did it look like?" Judy asked as she gently moved Oba aside to console her sister and the feline.

"Furless, about twice my height, with grey eyes," Jill answered after giving her sister a hug.

"You mean like him?" Nick said with a laughing grin on his muzzle as he pointed behind the females.

Everyone turned and saw strange sight. Behind them stood Aziza the lioness, Lina the hyena (who had finally put on a towel around her body) and Skye the arctic fox, all of whom had a proud look on their faces. On the ground before was a sad looking mammal who was handcuffed behind its back and wearing a white robe. "We've caught him, thank you very much!" Lina said, laughing at the dumbfounded look of the other mammals.

"You didn't do anything but run around chasing your own rear," Aziza said condescendingly, "Skye was the one who put him in cuffs, all you did after that was help carry and terrify this handsome human."

The lioness knelt down toward the mammal and whispered something in his ear, making him blush bright red.

"Quit flirting with him!" Lina shouted as she pulled the male away.

"Jealous much?" Aziza retorted.

"No, I'm going to hand him over to Nick and Judy so they can send him to jail," Lina said, giving the lioness a 'I dare you' look.

"If you arrest him, Officer Wilde, I'm afraid we won't have a new driver," Oba finally said.

"Wait, Nick Wilde?" the handcuffed mammal asked as he looked toward the fox policeman.

Nick looked back at the familiar human. "Scratches? Is that you?"

All the residents of Mrs. Osamu's home shouted at once, "Driver!?"

 **Uh-oh what's in store for our human now? Who will be the last two residents to reveal themselves to their new chauffeur? Find out soon in my future chapters. Also thank you Tamuril2 for your suggestions and you wonderful review of my last chapter. Thank you my felllow writers and goodnight!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Disney, so all copyrights belong to them.**

Five years ago

Nick had just poured the last of the popsicle juice into his buddy Fin's pawprints, and so had to wait a few minutes before picking them up from the Tundratown snow. The pawpsicles were selling like crazy and was making more money than he knew what to do with, thanks to his little scam. Of course, Nick's fennec partner was still not happy about them using a kit's disguise consisting of a little league uniform with the words 'Daddy's # 1 Player' on the front. The red fox might have to come up with something different so he and Finn could get their paws on more popsicles. "Hey, Nick! Come check this out," the fennec fox shouted in a deep voice from a snow bank on the other side of their van.

The conmammal trudged over to see what had caught his partner's attention and was shocked by what he found. Lying face down in the snow, with no protective covering on its upper body, was a human teenager. The human had brown hair and white skin that was quickly turning to the color of blueberries in the low temperatures. His face had soft features that looked as if it he smiled a lot and had yet experienced any of life's hardships. What caught Nick's eyes though were the deep gashes going up and down the kit's back. They appeared to have made fairly recent, because there was still blood oozing out of the wounds and dripping onto the white snow, turning it into a bright cherry red. "What the hell happened to him?" Nick said looking at Finn who just shrugged.

"Checked his pockets and his wallet, nothing in them but a picture of him and some female," the fennec said as he passed it to Nick.

'Who still has polaroids?' Nick thought.

Before he could examine the find closely however, the red fox's ears twitched as he heard a soft moan. "Oh crap!" Finn shouted, "It's still alive!"

"You didn't think to check his pulse?" Nick asked incredulously.

"Hey, with all that blood on the snow and the claw marks, I just assumed he had croaked,", the dwarf fox said. "Besides," Fin continued, "The thing is just a human anyway. It probably deserved what it had coming to him."

Nick glared at his partner before shaking his head. The red fox had no personal problem with humans. Heck, he even had business dealings with a few of them out in the Canal District. But no matter what a mammal's species' reputation was, they didn't deserve the kind of beating this kid had gotten. "Come on, let's get him to a hospital," the fox decided earning a glare from the fennec.

"If there's any blood stains on my car after this, I'll bite your face!" Finn mumbled as he followed Nick.

Another moan came from the dying human as both foxes each placed an arm over their shoulders. "Please," it gasped.

"What?" Nick asked as both he and Finn tried to help the injured mammal onto its feet.

"Please, give it back," the human said, "It is all I have left."

Nick gave the teen a confused look before remembering the picture that Fin had taken from the human earlier. "I'll give it back as soon as we get you in the van, kid," the fox said straining as he and Finn pulled and guided the mammal toward the back of the van.

"What about the…" Fin started to ask.

"Don't worry, with the money we'll be making off of Mr. Big soon, we won't have to worry about that pawpsicles for a while," Nick said as he helps the human into the parked vehicle's passenger's seat.

"Please," the teen said again.

"Huh? Oh right," the red fox said before pulling out the photo.

Before he hands it back to the mammal, Nick examines the pic closely to see if there was any clue to the teen's identity. The photo showed two teenage mammals (one male and the other female), both wearing what appeared to be school uniforms. One of the teens was the mammal in front of Nick, but the other was a female gazelle with a pair of red glasses on her muzzle and had a mess of yellow fur between her antlers. It seemed to Nick that both teens were pretty close to one another, and not just in personal space. On the back of the paper were the words: Edward and Gazette, together forever.

After putting the photo back in the teenage human's pocket, Nick asks, "Got a name kid?"

"Edward," the mammal said softly, open his grey eyes to look at the fox, "Edward Jackson, sir."

"Sir?" Nick said, grinning kindly at the human "I ain't a knight kid, so you'll just have to call me Nick. And the adorable little fox in the driver's seat is Finnick."

The fennec glares at his friend before pulling the van into gear. A loud bang comes from exhaust pipe, scaring the human and making him jump. This caused Edward to gasp in pain. "Careful, kid," Fin said in his usual deep voice, "I just cleaned those seats."

"So you mind telling me what you were doing out there in the snow kid?" Nick asked as he handed the mammal a coat that he found in the back of the van.

Edward just stares outside of the passenger window, seeming to ignore the fox's question. Nick just shrugged. He knew if the kid didn't want to tell him, he wasn't going to make him. As he was about to pull up the directions to the nearest hospital on his new Ipaw, he heard Edward say, "Where am I?"

"Tundratown, kid," Fin answered, focussing on the road to avoid any black ice that might have formed.

Nick looked up from his phone to see the teen had fallen asleep, his head leaning against the window. "Who is this kit?" he thought, before giving his friend the directions.

 **Today**

This night just keeps getting weird. First, an elderly tanuki gives him a place to stay and the first legitimate job he has ever had in his short life. Then, he gets chased all over a gigantic mansion by a crazy female hyena and a seductive, though possibly equally crazy, lioness. Finally, Eddie finds himself handcuffed to the wrists, sitting at a large table and being stared at by several attractive females, a bunny cop, his former boss/friend Nick Wilde, and the same tanuki who hired him in the first place.

After Oba had explained that Eddie was going to be the girl's new chaffeur, the tanuki led the group to a large enough dining area for them to sit down and have a calm discussion about had happened. At one side of the table and sitting down on the long bench was Oba, along with Nick on her right and Judy on her left sides. The trio were talking to each other in soft whispers, with Nick giving his old friend an occasional knowing look. Eddie was placed at the opposite end and was surrounded on both of his sides by the now fully clothed female mammals that he had run into. The lioness Aziza had placed herself on the human's left, sitting uncomfortably close to his arm. The hyena Lina was now wearing a green shirt and grey sweatpants and sitting on his right, keeping an eye him as if to make sure he didn't hurt Nika or Jill, who were both sitting on her right, the tigress seaming to somehow cower behind the rabbit. Skye was sitting cross legged on the tabletop in front of Eddie, tinkering with the handcuffs around his wrists since she had misplaced the keys to them. "Again, sorry about this sweetie," the arctic fox said, smiling up at the blushing human as the lioness scooted closer to him and the hyena continued to glare, "If I remembered that I'd lost the keys a long time ago, I'd of just tied you up instead."

"Thanks, I guess, Ms. Skye," Eddie said, giving the arctic fox a small shy smile back.

"Just Skye, Mr. Jackson," Skye smiled back as she continued to pick at the cuffs.

Eddie let out a small chuckle. "I just might just get along with her," he thought when he felt a claw being traced along his left arm.

"I wouldn't have minded that, Skye. At least then it would have been like opening a present when we untied him," Aziza said, giving the embarrassed human a seductive grin.

"Oh, for God's sake, keep it in your pants, Azi," Lina growled.

The lioness humphed as she began to question her new chauffeur. "So do you have a lot of experience driving mammals around, Mr. Edward," she asked as she looked closely at a scar on his arm.

"Um, I guess you could say that," Eddie answered, "Please call me Eddie. Or Ed if you prefer."

Aziza giggled, her right paw placed over a her mouth to stifle the laughter. "Are you not a little young to be doing this, Mr. Jackson?" Lina asked in a sarcastic tone, which earned a look from both the vixen and lioness.

"I suppose, under normal circumstances, I would be," Eddie replied, ignoring the hateful tone that he was used to when dealing with other mammals. "But Nick helped me out when I was a bit of trouble a few years back. He taught me everything I know about driving and how to spot scams and cons as well as mammals who wished to do me harm. So, I guess Oba thought it would be a good idea to take me on after I've been helping her the past year or so."

"Tr...trouble? What kind?" Nika asked from the other side of Jill, who for some reason was recording everything being said on a celery shaped recording pen.

Eddie was quiet for a few moments, focussing on Skye's attempt to get him out of the restraints. He noticed that the arctic vixen was starting to get frustrated. "Damn it," she said and threw the lockpick on the table then crossed her arms in anger, "Stupid thing won't come undone!"

"Can I try?" the human asked, pointing at the piece of metal.

The vixen raised a quizzical eyebrow as she answered, "Go for it."

The human picked up the pick, then started to maneuver his wrist and fingers to insert the metal into the lock. A moment later, a click sounded and the cuffs came undone. "There you go," Eddie said, smiling sheepishly as he handed the cuffs and pick back to the fox in front of him.

"How…" Skye stammered, "How did you do that? That is a standard ZBI handcuff. It is suppose to take for years of training to be able to do what you just did, and I've been an an agent for years now!"

"Years? You can't be older that much older than me if you are Fed," Eddie said, mentally slapping himself for giving the fox with a gun a flirtatious compliment.

"How old are you anyway?" Lina asked, curious after seeing Eddie get out so easily.

"I'll be twenty in a couple months," Eddie said with a matter-a-fact shrug.

"Wait, you're only nineteen?" Jill asked trying to place the celery pen past the hyena.

Lina gave the human a disbelieving look. "Yeah right. I may not have seen a human before but I know that there is no way you're that young," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Actually, based on what I've seen, he is telling the truth," Aziza said in Eddie's defense.

"Oh? And how would you know?" the hyena said, giving Aziza a sarcastic smile.

"Phd in veterinary science, remember? Plus, I wrote my doctorate on human anatomy whilst visiting their homeland of Anthros," Aziza said with an air of superiority.

Eddie's muscles tightened when he heard the word 'Anthros.' "You've been to that country, have you?" he asked while rubbing the cuts the cuffs left around his wrists.

"Yep, years ago when before I started my company of Zootopia Biotics," Aziza pressing her chest against Eddie's shoulder.

"Thank God she's put on a t-shirt," Eddie thought before saying, "I know I shouldn't ask how old a female is, but since you asked for mine I would like to know each of yours please."

"Oh, I'm twenty nine, honey," Skye said while still trying to figure out how Eddie had gotten out of the cuffs by examining them closely.

"Twenty two," Jill answered as she finally placed the pen near the human.

"Twenty six," Lina said proudly.

"Twenty seven," Nika said bashfully, looking down at her lap.

"A ladymammal never reveals her age," Aziza said.

"She's thirty one," Lina said, laughing at her friend's embarrassed expression.

"No!" Eddie said, looking at Aziza in surprise. "You look younger than Jill at least!" Another mental slap.

The lioness blushes and places her left paw on her cheek. "Tha...thank you," Aziza says, still blushing brightly while she thought, "He certainly is a charmer."

On the other side of the table, Judy, Nick and Oba continued discussing the situation in hushed tones. "What do you know about him, Nick?" Judy said as she watched her sister clearly trying to get the inside scoop on the exotic mammal. The rabbit officer could tell that the human was not a danger to anyone, but she sensed a deep sadness that seemed to surround the mammal's whole body.

"Enough to know that Scratches isn't going to a problem for Abby here," Nick replied, pointing at the tanuki.

"You've known him for a long time then?" Oba asked, looking up at the fox with a hopeful look.

"Almost for half a decade now," the red fox answered, giving the elderly mammal a kind smile.

"Then perhaps you can tell me more about his past?" Oba said, smiling back at her friend.

"Um," Nick's smile faded, "Yes and no."

"What do you mean?" Judy asked her full attention now on her tod.

"Well, when I first met him, he was beaten up and left in the snow of Tundratown to die. After me and Finnick took him to the hospital, he refused to tell us anything about who would do this to a kid. I may not have liked cops back then, but I told him that I thought maybe we could at least get the ball rolling on Eddie getting some justice. You know what he did? He laughed and said that no one could touch the humans who did this to him."

"Humans? He said that?" Judy asked, stunned at what Nick was saying.

Oba looked up at the fox with a sadness in her face. "You're saying his own kind did that to him?"

Nick shakes his head and says, "I don't know. Scratches refused to talk to the police who did show up, though they would have probably thought I had something to do with the cuts if it weren't for the fact that he was twice my height. Anyway, after Eddie healed up, I offered him a place to stay and he took it. Helped him learn how to live on the streets and to survive. I even helped him get his learner's permit when he turned sixteen so he could help me and Finnick out on some...business deals."

Judy gave Nick a serious look and tapped her paw digits on the table. "You had a sixteen year old kit helping you hustle pawpsicles?!" she whispered, angry that her tod had done something so stupid.

"No, all he did was drive the van to where ever we needed to go. I refused to let him do any of the conning or process of making the pawpsicles, because if we did get caught I didn't want him to have a record," Nick said, ashamed of what he had done in his past.

The rabbit's ears fell back on her head as she saw the look of shame on Nick's face. "Wait, then how could you not know anything about his past if you've known him for years?" Oba said, trying to bring the conversation back to the original question.

"Well," Nick began, rubbing a paw behind his neck as he explained, "When Scratches turned eighteen, he managed to get his paws on some alcohol, and I mean the strong kind like vodka and rum. I found him drunker than a skunk sitting in Fin's van singing some old weird Anthrothian songs."

"Why did he do that and how did you know they were Anthrothian?" Oba asked before Judy could scold the fox.

"I recorded it, thinking it was kind of funny seeing him get that way, then found out later what songs he was singing when I listened to it later. You see, Eddie is a sweet guy, but he was always serious. Uptight, like he needed to be polite and proper to everyone and everything. Hell, when I took him to meet Mr. Big one time, Scratches acted like he had been to board and business meetings his whole life," Nick said, shrugging his shoulders as he continued, "While he was drunk, he told me a little about his family and homeland. Said that his country was a beautiful and wonderful land, but didn't have a lot of diversity in its mammals. Seemed like his dad is some kind of big shot in the Anthros government who wanted his only son in a family of daughters to follow in his pawsteps. Something happened though before I met Eddie, which had caused a big falling out between him and his folks."

"Wait," Judy said, realizing what Nick was suggesting, "Are you saying that his family had something to do with those injuries you mentioned?"

"No, that can't be right," Oba said, stunned by what was being said.

"I don't know, and I can't really say without more evidence. All I do know is that shortly after telling me, he pulled out an old polaroid that I had found on him years before and started to tell me about some female that he grew up with named Gazette. Said that he messed up real bad with her, and now he could never go home. I think that his family didn't like how close he was to the gazelle and they…" Nick stopped giving Eddie a glance from across the table and seeing that the human was occupied continued, "Punished him for it."

Judy and Oba stared in disbelief. "What? But that's ridiculous," Oba said, "Interspecies relationships have been legal for decades now, and I should know."

The fox shakes his head, "Not in Anthros apparently, humans take up nearly ninety percent of the population in that country. More than any other place in the world so I'm told. Because of that, their civil rights are still stuck in the fifties. In fact, I think other mammals aren't even the right to vote still. Besides, even you and Walter had trouble when you first got together, didn't you?"

Nick's doe looked toward Eddie with a sympathetic and confused look,"How could someone like that grow into a seemingly sweet mammal like him?"

"I still don't know," Nick replied.

"Eddie," Oba suddenly shouted across the table causing the human to jump in his seat and making the other females look at him in surprise.

"Yes, Oba?" Eddie replied, starting to stand up so he could do whatever the tanuki needed.

"Take Nika to the kitchen and fetch us some tea and some snacks," Oba said, smiling at how fast the human reacted.

"Me?" the tigress asked, not wanting to be too close to the human since she was still nervous around the mammal.

"Yes, please take him there and he can help you in bringing everything back," the tanuki said as she smiled at the frightened feline.

"Ok then," Eddie said as he gets up earning a disappointed look from the lioness, a frustrated groan from the rabbit, a bemused smirk from the arctic fox, and a look of relief from the hyena. "Please lead the way, Ms...? I'm sorry but I still don't each of your last name's," Eddie said as he gave the tall tigress a bow.

"Khan, Nika Khan," she said, surprised at the human's manners.

"Savage," Skye said as she let out a small chuckle.

"Hopps and that's my sis across the table there," Jill said while putting the pen back into her breast pocket.

"Simba," Aziza said as she gave Eddie another seductive smile.

"Hathi," Lina said after placing her arms behind her head.

Eddie smiles at the small group before turning to his employer, "What kind of tea would you all like?"

"Surprise us," the tanuki said with a small smile.

"Then lead the way, my lady," Eddie said to the tigress, causing her to visibly blush.

"By the way," Judy asked as she watched the two walk out of the dining room, her ears straightening as she had a thought, "Where are Gazelle and Biyu?"

 **Outside Oba's home**

"That was fun, Biyu!" Gazelle Ripoll shouted and laughed inside the taxicab, much to the chagrin of the red panda sitting next to her.

"Yes, I suppose," Biyu Hua replied as she looked up at her friend.

Gazelle was wearing a leopard printed minidress that hugged tightly to her hips and curves and had the fur on her head dyed black, so as to not have her fans swarm her and the red panda as they were out having a good time. Biyu wore a black traditional Chinese dress with cherry blossom designs. The two had just left a popular nightclub called Psyche that catered to interspecies couples when a large chubby cheetah shouted that he had seen through Gazelle's disguise, forcing them to run toward the nearest cab in their high heels.

The red panda shook her head in dismay and then asked in a soft voice, "Why do you like to do that Gazelle?"

"Do what?" her friend replied, not looking up from the phone she had pulled from her small handpurse.

"Go to clubs like that. Certainly there are nice young bucks in your industry who would love to take you out on a date. That way you don't have to use me as a wingmammal in shady clubs like that," Biyu said, crossing her arms in anger.

Biyu hated clubbing, she'd rather be at home meditating and practicing the martial arts moves that made her famous in the first place. The panda worked as a stunt coordinator for some of Zootopia's hottest films and shows, which was she how met Gazelle when the pop star guest starred on one of her client's sets. The two became fast friends, and when Biyu told her new friend about Mrs. Osamu's vacant room, Gazelle jumped at the opportunity since it meant at least a little more privacy for her from the paparazzi due to the fact that most of the home was underground.

Gazelle shrugged and said, "I'm just not interested in dating within my own species, not since I was a teen in Anthros."

That caught Biyu's full attention, because she knew that the diva rarely talked about her past. In fact, most mammals knew very little about Gazelle's past before four years ago when she appeared on stage with Mousey Cyrus as a backup singer and dancer. When her voice was first heard, a manager offered Gazelle a contract and the rest was history. But no amount of interviews or investigations could turn up anything about the young mammals life other than the fact that she was twenty two and that she was a firm peace activist. "You're from Anthros? That country that is made up of those hoomuns?" Biyu asked, hoping to learn more about her friend and that she doesn't accidentally push to her boundaries.

"They're called humans, but yes," Gazelle said looking up from her phone and giving her smaller friend a sad look. "I'll have to tell you more about it some day."

Biyu sighed as she felt the cab come to a stop in front to their destination. "For someone who is in the public eye a lot, you sure know how to keep secrets," she told the gazelle as she paid the driver's fare.

 **Back inside Oba's house, inside her main kitchen**

After guiding the human to where the kitchen was located, Nika was shocked to see how quickly Eddie jumped into preparing the snacks and tea for everyone else. The area was fully stocked with all the appliances and food one would need to feed a small army or at least a house full of hungry females. Past the counters and sinks, there was a door that lead to a garden that Oba used to get fresh produce that were in season. He searched the cabinets for a few minutes, before handing the tigress two teapots (one for the mammal's her size and one for the mammal's Mrs. Osamu's size) and asked her to fill them up with water and then boil them. As she did that, Eddie rolled up the robe's sleeves, revealing his scar ridden arms, and then prepared to make sandwiches for everyone.

Nika kept stealing glances toward the mammal to see what he was doing and couldn't help but stare at the markings on his forearms. They reminded her of her own stripes; but unlike the natural color of her fur, she could tell that the scars were not an original part of Eddie's skin. They zigzagged across his arm and were in various stages of healing, as if he had been in multiple fights over the years. "If I may say Ms. Khan, it is very rude to stare at another mammal without saying something," she heard Eddie say as she jerked her head in surprise.

Eddie was smiling up at her with another shy grin as he was applying a sauce to one of the pieces of bread with a butterknife. Nika felt her face turn red and was glad that her fur covered her skin, unlike Eddie. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," she said as she was turning her head back to the teapots.

"It's alright, I didn't mean to offend you Miss," Eddie said as he set the bread onto a paper plate and turned his whole body toward the statuesque feline.

Suddenly, the human did a deep bow toward the female, causing a surprised look to come across her face. "I am sorry for scaring you and for causing you distress tonight, Miss Khan. I hope that it doesn't plague our future relationship," Eddie said looking up at the tigress with an apologetic look on his face, "As chauffeur and client of course."

"Please," Nika said placing a paw over her mouth to keep from laughing. "Call me Nika, and you don't have to worry. I can see that you are a kind mammal and that you didn't mean any harm by it. I was just startled because I had never seen or met a human before." She continued when Eddie did not get up from his bow, "You see, I've led a pretty sheltered life, since my mother never allowed me to interact with any mammals outside of our social circle. It was only when I had met Lina in college that I started to realize that there is more to life than what my parents wanted. So, thank you for showing me that the world is an even bigger place than I thought it was before, Mr. Jackson," Nika said and then gave the human a bow of her own, going so deep that she wound up placing her chin at the back of his head by mistake and blushing yet again.

"Eddie, if you please, Nika," the human said as he got up from his previous position, smiling again at the tigress.

"Eddie it is then," Nika smiled back, feeling butterflies fluttering in her chest as she did so.

"Now," Eddie said, "If there is one thing I know, it's that this food is not going to make itself. 'A true mammal knows how to make a truly good sandwich' as a certain Nick Wilde once said "

Nika let out a soft laugh as she turned back toward the teapots. "Yes, but I'd be careful when placing that food near Skye or Lina. They might not look it, but I've seen them outeat hippos and not gain a single pound from it. I think it's because of their crazy lifestyles and jobs."

The tigress's ear twitched as she heard the door open and turned to see who had walked in. Nika smiled as she saw Gazelle and Biyu taking off their heels, the red panda's own height at about where the other female's hip was at now. "Oh hey guys, meet our new driver," she said, presenting Eddie with her right paw who had still not turned around, "Mr. Edward Jackson, or Eddie as he likes to be called."

Gazelle dropped her shoes and purse in shock when Nika said the human's name. "Eddie?" she said, a look of disbelief on her face as she stared at him.

Eddie turned when he heard his name, a disbelieving look on his face as well. "Gazette?" he said, dropping the butter knife in his hand onto the floor in surprise.

 **There you have it folks! Sorry for the wait, but as you all know: life and writer's block are complete bitches. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to all of your reviews, both positive and negative. Thank you and goodnight!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Zootopia or any Disney property….yet**

 _Six_ _years ago_

Gazette Ripoll hated her school. Being one of the only non humans in St. Francis Academy was not the easiest thing in the world. Everyday she was bullied by every one of the teens in her sophomore class by being called a 'horny' mammal or asking if she were graceful as the rest of her species. The icing on the cake was when some would try to 'pet' her fur when she wasn't looking, causing her to shiver uncontrollably and earn laughter out of all the humans present.

The gazelle was wearing the female uniform, which consisted of a blue dress shirt and matching thigh length skirt, along with a pair of round glasses that made her eyes appear bigger than they were. On her feet, she wore black shoes with white socks that went up to her knees. The female did not want to be there on the first day of the school year. All she wanted to do was finish her studies, go home and listen to her favorite singer: Britney Deers. As she was walking outside in the school's courtyard, the gazelle noticed a small group of human males shouting and hollering at something she couldn't see clearly. Gazette walked over to observe, not really caring what was going on but was curious anyway.

In the center of the circle of humans were two male fellow students, one smaller than the other one. The larger one Gazette recognized as Tobias Ramses, a senior with blonde fur and blue eyes who loved to pick on the younger students and was often the instigator of the gazelle's own torments. The smaller human with brown fur and grey eyes was a freshmen she had never met before. "He must be part of the new students that started today," Gazette thought to herself.

The smaller mammal had his paws held up in a fighting stance and landed several punches on the larger male's stomach, seeming to hold his own against Tobias who looked worse for wear despite his size. Tobias' face was swollen from the punches he had received from his opponent and he looked as if he was about to pass out based on his labored breathing. The crowd surrounding the two fighters continued to shout and chant, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" as Tobias fell down on his knees, who was panting and gasping in pain. Gazette stared at Tobias' opponent in amazement. How did this fourteen year old manage to beat up a senior who weighed twice as much as he did?

Tobias looked at his opponent with the same look of amazement as Gazette, seeing that he couldn't even land a single blow on the kit. He was regretting picking a fight with this freshmen. The senior and his cronies had found the kit underneath one of the courtyard's trees, reading an old papyrus book and eating a cinnamonroll. Tobias walked down and started to make fun of the freshmen for reading such an obsolete reading material while his friend Marcus was trying to steal the dessert.

Without any warning, Marcus' hand was slapped so hard that it felt like it might have been broken. The freshmen continued to read while he was eating his food and ignored Tobias' angry remarks. Enraged by his friend's injury, Tobias threw a punch toward the younger male but landed on the tree trunk instead. Looking around with even more rage in his system, he saw that the student was walking away and still reading his stupid book. Tobias ran toward the target of his wrath and tried to land another punch. By this time, a crowd of curious onlookers were gathering to witness an eventual beatdown. But instead of landing a blow, Tobias received one to his jaw. The senior rubbed his chin and saw that the freshmen was wrapping his book in his school jacket before he placed it on the ground. The freshmen then got into a fighting stance and waited for Tobias to make the next move. This is what led the senior to be on his knees, bleeding from the cuts on his swollen face and having tears flow from his eyes.

Tobias closed his eyes, expecting a final blow as the crowd chanted and demanded for his blood. The punch never came though. Much to Gazette surprise, the freshmen offered a hand to his defeated opponent and helped him stand up on his feet. The crowd groaned in disappointment as they parted to let on of the instructors come through. "What happened here?" the dark skinned adult said as looked at both of the students with an amused expression on his face.

"Nothing, Instructor Bane," the freshmen said in a calm polite voice after picking up his jacket book, "My fellow student fell and injured himself. I was just helping him get up as you were walking over here."

"Is that true?" the instructor asked, giving Tobias a raised eyebrow.

"Ye..yes, Sir," Tobias answered as he gave the freshmen a confused look.

"Very well, go to the Nurse's office," Instructor Bane commanded as he looked at the freshmen, "Name, son."

"Edward Jackson, sir," Edward said, standing at full attention as if he were used to taking orders from an officer.

Gazette was still standing a little bit away from the two, amazed at how the fight had turned out. Tobias walked past the female, giving her an angry look as if to say that she better not contradict the other male's story. The gazelle walked toward the freshmen as he put his jacket back on and saw that he stood to where her shoulders were. "Why did you do that?" she asked the younger mammal.

The human looked up at the gazelle and gave her a shy smile as he replied, "Do what?"

"Fight Tobias like that and then just lie to protect him?" Gazette asked, looking Edward in the eyes as she waited for an answer.

The freshmen sighed as he explained, "If I didn't stand up to him, he would have kept on harassing me for his own amusement to no end. If I didn't protect him, Tobias would have sought retribution for getting him trouble and I would have been in even deeper shit than if I didn't stand up for myself. Besides, bullies like him need a lesson in humility."

Gazette stared at the human in amazement as he over one of his paws to her. "Edward Jackson by the way," he said grinning up at her as he waited for her to shake his offered paw.

Finally, after a few moments, the gazelle shook the human's paw and said, "Gazette Ripoll."

 _Today_

Gazelle stared in amazement at Eddie. She hadn't seen him in almost five years, and now here he was standing in the middle of a kitchen and wearing a bathrobe while making a snack like he owned the place. "Wait," she said and turned her glance toward the tigress standing next to him, "Did you say 'driver'?"

"I take it you already know each other?" Nika said, feeling quite nervous as she saw the diva's expression change so quickly from shock to anger.

"Not a bad uniform if he is," Biyu said as she walked toward Eddie, looking up and down his body as if he were an opponent in one of her action films. "My name is Biyu Hua, by the way," the red panda said, pointing toward the dropped utensil.

"Oh," Eddie said suddenly as he bent down to pick up the knife and clean it off. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me. Nika is the water ready?" the human asked, doing his best to not look at Gazelle as his back was to her.

"Hold up," Gazelle stomped over, which wasn't easy when you're wearing one high heel, and grabbed Eddie by the shoulder to turn him around. "What are you doing here, Eddie?" she asked angrily, disbelief still clouding her face as she looked over her former friend.

He had grown quite a bit since Gazelle had last seen him, he would have stood even with her if it weren't for the heels; and he had shaved the fur on his head, but Eddie still had those same grey eyes from when they were both in high school. The human still turned his head away, trying to not look his very first friend in the eyes. "Eddie," Gazelle said, her voice now softer as she placed a paw on his chin to turn his head back.

Eddie grabbed the paw before it could touch him, his face almost expressionless. "Nika, the tea?" he asked as a pair of loud whistles filled the still kitchen.

"Oh, uh right," Nika said as she quickly set to work in finishing making the tea.

The tigress stole a glance at the human as she placed a tea bag in each pot, seeing a look of pure grief over his face as he pushed himself away from the gazelle. "I can bring these food back to the others if you'll bring the tea please. If Oba, I mean, Mrs. Osamu doesn't wish for anything else, I'll probably turn in for the night," Eddie said as he grabbed both plates and walked toward the kitchen's exit.

Gazelle couldn't believe her eyes. Here he was, standing in the kitchen of her home and he wouldn't even talk to her?! Anger welled within her as she blocked the human from leaving and shouted, "You're not going anywhere until you answer my question!"

A gasp escaped both the tigress and red panda. They had never seen the pop star ever get this mad and so emotional to the point where tears were forming around her eyes. Gazelle was always the peacemaker and the voice of reason, even when Lina and Aziza's arguments would make most mammal's pull at their own fur. This though, this made both females very nervous. Eddie just stared at the angry gazelle, his face and voice almost void of emotion as he said, "Excuse me," and tried to leave again.

Suddenly, a loud pop resonated throughout the kitchen making the red panda and large feline jump in surprise. Gazelle had slapped Eddie across his face, causing a red impression to form where her paw had landed. "'Excuse you'? You don't get any excuse for… dying and suddenly showing up like this! It took years for me to get over your death, and now you're standing right in front of me as if you didn't just go away. Not one message, not one call did I receive in the five years you've been gone, so you damn well give me an explanation and not one excuse," the singer said, tear rolling down her cheeks and sob forming in her throat.

The human, however, didn't react. Eddie stood with the same expression that he had before and still held onto the plates filled with food, though Biyu noticed that his hands were shaking slightly. "Excuse me, Miss Gazelle," he said again as he walked past her, not daring to look her in the face.

Gazelle gasped and let out a small sob as the kitchen door closed behind the human. "Gazelle, what was that all about?" Nika said as she towered over her friend and tried to give her a comforting hug.

 _Back at the dining table_

"You know we really should get going," Judy said as she started to get up from her spot on the bench. "I'm glad things weren't as serious as we thought, but Nick and I are still on the clock so we'd best be heading back."

"But, Carrots," Nick whined, "You haven't lived until you tried Scratch's sandwiches. I don't know how he does it, but he'd make even a peanut butter and jelly taste like a five star meal."

The lapin gave her tod an incredulous look. "I'm sure Eddie will make some more when we come back on our day off," Judy replied, shaking her head at Nick's attempt to get out of doing actual work.

"Alright, dear," Oba said, smiling at the two mammals, "I don't want old Grass Breath to be mad at you two, so go on ahead. I'll tell everyone my decision once Eddie get back and I'm sure Jill will fill you in later.

Jill's ears perked as she heard Eddie's footsteps approach from the direction of the kitchen. "Hold on to that thought, Judes. Looks like the food is on the way," Jill said, her tail wagging in excitement.

"About time," Lina said as she licked her lips in anticipation.

"I wonder what our wonderful and handsome chauffeur has made for us," Aziza said with a grin on her face as she thought of Eddie.

When Eddie arrived at the table, the other mammals stopped talking as they looked at his face. There was still a red mark from where Gazelle had slapped him and it looked as if it might swell. "What the hell happened, Scratches?" Nick laughed as the human set the plates of food in the center of the table.

"Where is Nika?" Jill asked after checking to see if the large feline was following him.

"With the other two ladies of the house," Eddie replied, not explaining why Nika had stayed behind in the kitchen. "She'll bring the tea along shortly. Mrs. Osamu, may I retire to my room?" Eddie asked turning toward the tanuki as she grabbed the nearest sandwich.

"Oh, yes, after I tell you my plans," Oba said, confused at why Eddie had addressed him so formally. "Now Lina," the landlady said as looked at the hyena who was starting to stuff some food into her mouth, "You and Nika will take Eddie to get the paperwork he needs in order to get his G.E.D. and help him study for the next week or so."

Lina almost spat out her food at Oba's statement. "What? Why do I have to help him?" the female hyena shouted and glared at the human to dare him to say something.

"Yes, why would you let the college dropout help him, when you have a certified doctor?" Aziza asked in a sickly sweet that made Lina's fur stand on edge in irritation.

"I'm not a dropout! I just haven't found...what..I wanna do," Lina's ears fell flat against her head as she replied, clearly becoming depressed by what the lioness had pointed out as she laid her chin on the tabletop.

"You are too busy to help a young mammal with his studies, Aziza. Plus, it will give both Nika and Lina something to do that until the semester picks up."

"And you don't have to worry about your licence, buddy," Nick said as he chomped on one of peanut butter sandwiches, "Flash still owes me for not getting him sent to jail for his drag racing."

"Owes you? More like he owes both of y'all, cause I seem to recall Judy being there," Skye said as she snatched one of the remaining sandwiches on the plate closest to her side.

Judy held back a snort of laughter as Nick tried to comment back to the arctic fox, but could not because the peanut butter had caught to the roof of his mouth. "Anyway," Oba said as the red fox tried to lick the butter out of with his tongue, "Once you get your paws on both documents, I'll be able to pay you ten thousand a week. How does that sound?"

Every mammal stared at the tanuki in bewilderment, including the human. "Did you say ten g's?" Nick said after finally clearing his mouth.

"You're willing to pay him almost forty thousand a month? But that's basically all of our rents combined for a few months and then some," Aziza said, stunned by just how generous her landlady was to the human.

"Yeah, that means we're all basically paying him, ain't it," Skye said, laughing as she took another bite.

"I think that might be a bit too much," Eddie said as he rubbed the back of his head and continued to stare at his employer in amazement.

Oba smiled at the group and mammals and said, "It's my money and I have the right to do as I see fit."

Eddie shook his head and said, "Can someone take me to my room please? I need to lay down so I can get a head start toward my very first real paycheck."

"I'll take you," Jill said, jumping to her feet before Aziza could offer. The bunny wanted to sneak in a few more questions from the mysterious mammal.

"Guess, I'll see what's taking Nika so long," Skye said as she got off the table and walked toward the kitchen.

"And we'll be heading back to our patrol," Judy said while pulling Nick away from the remaining sandwich and towards the exit.

"Wait, what about the tea?" the fox said, trying to convince the rabbit to let him stay and get out of actually working the whole shift.

Judy rolls her eyes again and continued to pull the tod away, which surprised the human at how strong the rabbit was considering how tall Nick was compared to her. "We'll come by on our weekend and catch up with you guys over dinner, OK?" the rabbit officer said over her shoulder as they finally exit the dining area.

Jill laughs as she watches her sister and her boyfriend leave. "They are already acting like a married couple," the doe said, looking up at the human with a smile on her face, "Let's go then."

 _Back in the kitchen_

Nika set a warm cup of tea in front of her friend and sat on the opposite side of the island. Gazelle's light brown eyes had turned red from the crying, which thankfully had stopped since Biyu went to bring the rest of the drinks to the other mammals. The pop star takes a sip of her drink before saying, "Thank you, Nika."

The tigress nods her head and lets the gazelle to continue drinking and to calm down. Nika was dying to ask what that emotional display was all about and to find out what Eddie's relationship with Gazelle was. "So," Nika started to say, "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"No," Gazelle replied as she takes another sip of her drink, "But I need to, so whatever questions you have you can ask them."

"How do you know Eddie and why did he call you Gazette?" Nika asked before she could stop herself.

Gazelle smiled sadly as she answered, "Cause that is my real name: Gazette Ripoll. After my first performance, my manager suggested that I change it to something a little more exotic so I changed it to Gazelle. I guess I am so used to being called Gazelle that I almost forgot it. Anyway, I knew Edward from when I was still living in Anthros as a teenager. He was my only friend in school and the only one who didn't judge me for being the only female nonhuman in there. In fact," Gazelle said with a sad smile, "Eddie was the first mammal I've ever sung in front of."

"Really?" Nika said, thinking that what her friend was telling amazing and romantic at the same time

"Yep, he said that with a voice like mine I could make even angels weep," Gazelle laughed as she takes another sip of her tea.

"You said that Eddie died though, so what happened that made you believe that?" the tigress asked, hoping to learn more about the chauffeur's past.

"It was shortly after our…" Gazelle started to say before blushing a deep shade of red.

"Your what?"

The pop star looked down in embarrassment as she whispered something that the feline couldn't hear at first. "What was that?" Nika asked as she leaned closer to listen better.

"Our first kiss!" Gazelle shouted, clearly ashamed of what she was telling her friend.

"What?!" Nika said, shocked at what she just heard. "How old were you two?"

"I was seventeen and he was fourteen," Gazelle said.

"Oh, you like them younger too, huh?" Nika said with a smile on her face as a laugh escaped from her.

"Too?"

"Yeah," Nika said after she quiets down, "Not quite that young, but I don't mind dating a younger male if he offered. Though, most males are a little intimidated by my height." The tigress starts to frown but stops to ask,"What happened after that then? I mean a first kiss is a pretty big deal for a young couple."

"We weren't a couple per se," Gazelle said, still blushing as she explained, "Eddie and I were at his parents' home, hanging out in his room and listening to music that we both liked. I then told him of my dream to come here to Zootopia and pursue my singing career. He just smiled and laughed after he said that he already knew. But I told him that my dream also had him in it. That I didn't think I could be able to accomplish my goals without my biggest supporter standing behind me. Ever since I had first met him, he would always listen to my ideas and beliefs and not once judge me or call me stupid for them. Eddie told me that he would be happy to support me from Anthros while I was singing my heart out. But I told him again that I wanted him there with me. He asked me why and I said that it was because I loved him."

"You loved him?" Nika placed a paw to her mouth in shock.

Gazelle nodded before continuing, "He just smiled again, and said that he loved me too. Not like in a best friend kind of way either. He said that he thought that he could actually see us being together if I weren't graduating the next year. I think he was afraid that with me leaving so soon that maybe he shouldn't pursue a relationship. I just stared at him for a while then tried to gently kiss him on the check. But he turned his head and had me accidentally kiss him on the lips. Our lips just...locked together and I swear I heard fireworks and explosions. After what felt like forever, we stopped and looked at each other. The look I saw on his face confirmed how much I wanted Eddie in my life. I thought that here was someone that was willing to do whatever it took to protect me and make me happy."

"Awwwww," the tigress said feeling extremely jealous of Gazelle for some reason.

"After that we talked about our plans to be able to come here to Zootopia. We didn't quite have the details worked out, but I knew that we would be able to figure it out. However, life is a little messy, I suppose. A few days later, Eddie's told me that he had gotten into a car accident. His body was supposedly so unrecognizable that they had to confirm with dental records. They never really liked that I was hanging around him so much, so they didn't even invite me to the funeral. That final year of school was the worst time of my life." Gazelle finished with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Gazelle," Nika said, trying to think of the best way to ask as she patted her friends paw gently, "Obviously Eddie is not dead, so why do you think his family lied?"

"I honestly do not know," Gazelle answered after wiping away her tears with her free hand, "And I think only Eddie can answer that."

Unbeknownst to the two females, Skye was listening to their conversation from outside the kitchen door. The fox had passed Biyu in the hallway and had learned a little of what had happened earlier. Skye thought that Gazelle would not reveal more if there was an audience instead of a close friend, so she placed her ear against the door and heard everything that was said. The female took a step back, shaking her head in amusement. 'That human sure did make things interesting around here,' she thought as she walked away and chuckled silently while a plan was forming in her mind.

 _Meanwhile_

"So," Jill said, looking over and up from her shoulder to look at the human following her, "You are from Anthros, correct?"

Eddie nodded, still thinking about what had happened just moments before. 'Why is Oba doing so much for me?' he thought, letting the bunny in front of him ask whatever questions she had.

"What is it like?" Jill asked, leading her new chauffeur down another hall.

"Different, but not different," Eddie replied after a few seconds of thought.

"What do you mean?"

The human thought for a few more moments before answering, "Imagine Zootopia but a hundred time bigger, where all the districts stretch for miles and miles in all directions. But instead of all the different species like we have here, there are mostly humans living in every environment."

Jill turned her head in shock. "Is Anthros really that big then?"

"Yes and no," Eddie said giving the rabbit a knowing grin, "Anthros located at a weird nexus of environments, because for some strange meteorological and geological reasons the mountains in our northern region is like Tundratown whilst our most southern region is like Sahara Square with the middle a mixture of the Meadowlands, Rainforest District and Swamp Row."

"Wow," Jill said, "How can humans live in so many different places?"

"We adapt," Eddie replied.

"Well, here we are," Jill said, finally guiding Eddie to his room.

"Thank you, Ms. Hopps," the human said as he opened his door.

"Please, call me Jill. Ms. Hopps sounds too formal," the bunny said as she smiled up at the taller human.

"Thank you, Jill," Eddie said, smiling back at the small rabbit and offering a paw to shake.

"I'll tell Lina which room you're staying so she and Nika can take you to city hall to get you started on your G.E.D.," Jill said as she shook the human's paw.

"Great," Eddie said, thinking that the hyena would probably drag her feet during the whole process.

"Good night then," Jill said while walking away from the door. "Oh, by the way," she said, turning her head to look back at Eddie, "It was very nice to meet you, despite how it started."

Eddie blushed bright red as he mumbled, "Likewise, Jill."

Jill smiled again as she walked away and thought to herself, "I just got my new mammal interest story."

The human closed the door to his room, then took off his robe. After a night like tonight, he felt like sleeping like the dead. Eddie sighs as he sits down on the bed, his back exposed to the door and his mind racing a million miles an hour. Gazette. How in all the Ten Heavens was Gazette, his first love, in the same house where he was going to be employed? Placing his face in his palms, he lets out a soft groan and thinks of all that has happened that evening. He can't face her, he just couldn't. Eddie had spent the last five years trying keep her safe by not being a part of her life. When he first heard the singer Gazelle on the radio in Finnick's van two years after he was found in Tundratown, Eddie couldn't believe his ears. She was singing a song about peace and acceptance, something Gazette was always preaching about back home in Anthros; and when the human first heard the female's voice, Eddie just knew it was his Gazette and that she had accomplished her dreams.

He had thought about going to one of her concerts, but knew that Gazette would not want to see him even if she spotted him in the crowd. Eddie also knew that if he did meet her, he would just put her in danger again. The mammals who had marked his back years ago would more than likely follow through on the threats they made back then. Sighing again, the young male laid on his side and started to go to sleep on top of his bedcovers. As he started to drift into a dreamless state, Eddie's last thought was, 'I will make it up to you Gazette. I promise.'

 **Phew, finally done. Sorry for the wait everyone, and thank you to all of the people who gave me suggestions and ideas. However, for those who are concerned about fluff or lack thereof in the story I have this to say: if I have 'mature' scenes in the story then I will place a warning at the beginning of the chapter and have the scene in a separate 'story' which will contain all of the said scenes. That way my older reader can enjoy said scenes at their leisure whilst still enjoying a good story. Again all comments are welcome, just no trolling or hatefulness please.**

 **Thank you and good night/day**


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own Zootopia or its characters**

Lina stared at the blue door in frustration. Her foot was tapping and her arms were crossed as she waited for her 'chauffeur' to wake up. The female hyena growled for what felt like the hundredth time, becoming even more angry with each passing minute. She had woken up early so she and Nika (who was standing by her with a tired look on her face) could take the human to get his stupid G.E.D.. What made matters worse was that her tigress friend refused to let Lina bang on the door, for fear of waking the whole house. "Why isn't he up yet?" Lina growled through gritted teeth.

"Well, most mammals aren't up at six o'clock in the morning," Nika said with a yawn.

The hyena moaned, "Why do we have to do this? If he is suppose to be our driver, why isn't he doing this himself?"

"You heard Abby last night," Nika replied, "She wants us to get to know him better, since he is going to take us where we want to go and make sure we are safe."

After Eddie had left the dining area the previous evening, Biyu had arrived with the tea and was followed a short while later by Gazelle and Nika. Oba explained again what she had planned for the human male, but added one more thing before everyone went to their perspective room. "I want each of you to try to spend sometime with Eddie," the tanuki said as she looked at each of the present females, which included Jill and Skye who both returned from whatever task they were doing.

"Why?" Lina had said in a derisive tone that earned a concern look from Nika and an annoyed look from Aziza.

"So that way Eddie can get to know each one of you better. I want you all to make him feel welcome, because he is going to be sharing a home with you all," Oba said, giving the hyena a withering glare that made the predator slouch lower in her seat.

"Why is Eddie here if you don't mind me asking?" Gazelle asked politely. The singer had since calmed down from her episode in the kitchen, but Nika could tell that she was still in a bit of shock at seeing her childhood friend come back into her life.

Oba took a few moments before saying, "I think there is something special about that young mammal. I don't know what it is, but something in my heart of hearts is telling me to help him." The tanuki placed a paw over her chest to emphasize the point.

"Is that why you are paying him so much?" Aziza asked, a look of worry appearing over her face.

"In a way, yes," the elderly female said softly, "Just please trust me on Eddie. I know you feel apprehensive about him, but I know something is coming and that human will somehow be at the center of it all. Call it an old mammal's intuition if you will."

Everyone turned their heads to look at one another. They didn't quite know what their landlady was talking about, but is she had a strong feeling about something they knew to listen to her. After all, Mrs. Osamu was there for the low points of some of their lives so it was only fair that they'd trust her on matters such as this.

"Ok," Lina had said grudgingly, "Nika and I will take him tomorrow to city hall."

"Good," Oba said, smiling at her group of tenants, "Be sure to be ready by seven o'clock."

"What?! Why?!" the hyena shouted in disbelief.

"Because that is when the bus will be here. Now you all have a long day tomorrow so let's all go to bed," the tanuki said Lina could get another word in.

So here they were, both the Nika and Lina had gotten up at five so they could be ready for Eddie when he was. Lina had put on her favorite denim pants and white t-shirt, while Nika wore a simple white blouse and brown dress pants and had a small (though larger for some mammals) red purse. The hyena looked at the watch on her wrist and saw that it was 6:15. "That's it," Lina grabbed the doorknob and twisted it, "I'm going the wake that bastard up."

"Wait."

Nika tried to stop her friend but was too late. Lina opened the door and started to say something to the sleeping figure on the bed, but was stopped by what both she and Nika saw. Eddie had gone to sleep on top of the covers was barechested, revealing his entire upper body. His back was to the females and what they saw was what made them stop in their tracks. Lina at first thought that what she saw were impressions left by the quilt that marked the humans back, but as she let her eyes adjust to the dark she saw that wasn't the case. All across the male's skin, there were deep scars in crisscrossed and zigzagged patterns. The cuts were so deep, that Nika was surprised that the human wasn't still in some sort of pain even after they had healed.

Both females stepped back through the open door and then shut it behind them quietly. "Did you see.." Lina started to say as she looked up at her friend, who nodded her head before she could finish the question.

"What do you think happened to him?" Nika said, her voice shaking in sympathy for the male they had just say.

"I don't know," Lina said, shaking her head, "If he were older, I would've said those were battle marks. My dad told me that sometimes, during campaigns and such, soldiers would receive similar wounds as they fought enemy combatants in paw to paw warfare. But Eddie said he was only nineteen for Creator's sake, he can't have seen that kind of action."

Nika shook her head as she thought of what she just saw. "Those didn't look like any claw marks that I've ever seen and I should know," she held up her own paws to show the hyena her claws.

Lina shook her head again and said, "It doesn't matter. If he wanted to talk about it, he'd have told us about it. I've known at least dozen males who received those kinds of marks on the battlefield. Half of them loved showing them off, thinking that they were some sort of badge of courage, while the other half didn't want to talk about how they got 'em. So let's not bother the human, ok?"

"Ok," Nika said, a sad look coming over her face. "I wonder if got them after Gazelle last saw him," the tigress thought as she watched her friend tap on the door gently.

On the other side of the door, Eddie awoke, startled by the knocking. It took a few moments before he remembered the events of last night. The human smiled, thinking about the last time he had gotten a good night's sleep. Ever since Nick had taken him to the hospital all those years ago, Eddie had trouble sleeping because of all the of terrible nightmares he would get that would cause him wake up in the middle of the night in a panic. The strange thing was that Eddie could never remember the details of the dreams, so he couldn't be able to deal with whatever was causing them.

Another knock came from the door, this time accompanied by a voice saying, "Eddie, are you awake?"

He got up and threw on the bathrobe that laid on the floor before he answered his door. "Yes," the human said, still rubbing sleep from his eyes when he saw Lina and Nika standing at his door.

"Good," Lina said while giving him a suspiciously kind smile, "Get dressed. Abby said that the bus to city hall leaves in a half an hour."

"Yes," Nika said in turn, giving him a genuine smile, "The sooner you can get your license, the sooner you can get the ten thousand Mrs. Osamu promised you."

"Oh," Eddie said sheepishly, "You heard about that Nika?"

The tigress nodded, still smiling at the shorter mammal. "Alright," Eddie said, "Give me a few minutes, I don't know what I have to be honest."

After Eddie closed the door, Nika and Lina began to whispered to each other. "What was that?" Nika asked, looking down on her friend with serious look on her face.

"What was what?" Lina looked up, confused at the tigress's expression.

"You smiling at him like that," Nika said, her paws placed on her hips and her tail swishing back and forth.

"Oh come on," the hyena said with a roll of her eyes, "I was trying to be nice."

"Exactly!" the tigress whispered, "He's going to know that you saw the... you know."

"Look," Lina said, pointing a finger at her tall friend, "We are going to be spending the whole day with this mammal, and I would prefer it if I can get some dirt on him. If it turns out he is dangerous or a threat to Abigail in anyway, I will get him thrown out of here faster than a cheetah going after a bug burger."

Nika stared at her friend with an incredulous look on her face. "Eddie might just surprise you, Lina. I will bet that if you give him a chance, you'll start to like him."

"Yeah right," the hyena scoffed, "You wanna really bet on that?"

"Yes," the tigress crossed her arms in defiance, "I'm willing to bet my collection of autographed James Ratterson novels that by the end of today, you will actually enjoy Eddie being around."

"No, thank you," Lina said, rubbing her chin in thought. "How about this: if I win, you will help me with my next prank on Aziza; if you win, you will have to go on a date with him," the hyena said with a mischievous grin.

"Wha...what?" Nika said, flustered at her friend's terms.

"You've been going on about how much you want to go on a date, so here's your chance," Lina said as she held her paw out to seal the deal.

It took Nika a moment to think over the conditions of the bet. The tigress was confident after spending some time with the human and hearing Gazelle's story, that her friend would come to like Eddie. Without another moment's hesitation, Nika shook Lina's paw and said, "It's on."

"What's on?" a voice said beside the two females.

Both mammals turned and saw that the human had finished getting dressed. Eddie was wearing a black, long sleeve polo shirt and matching pants; and on his feet were a pair of brown sandals. Nika thought that their chauffeur had cleaned up nicely, while Lina wondered how long he had been standing there.

"It's on…" Nika struggled to figure out a lie to tell.

"It's on next week," Lina said, "I was telling her about a new movie she should go see next week, when she has time."

"Oh, ok," Eddie said with a shrug of his shoulders, "So are we going to catch the bus or what?"

"Sure," Lina said, grabbing Eddie by the paw, "Let's get going, driver boy."

 **A few hours later**

The two females were waiting in a small lobby, outside where Eddie was taking his G.E.D. test. Lina was listening to music on her Ipaw and Nika was reading a paperback book she had brought along. It hadn't taken them long to reach City Hall, but it had been difficult for them to find someone who could help them get Eddie his paperwork. After being sent from one office to another for what felt like forever to the hyena, they'd finally found a red squirrel wearing horn rimmed glasses, named Mrs. Ward, who was in charge of the testing. After Mrs. Ward had help Eddie finish signing the necessary form, she guided him to the room where he would take all of the tests in.

An hour had passed and the human was still in the room. The hyena let out another impatient growl as she tried to find her favorite band on phone. Nika shook her head as she was reading a line from her book, the pages dogeared from repeated reading. "Please try to be patient, Lina," the tigress said, licking her finger and turning the page in the small book.

"I'm trying," Lina said as she forced herself to calm down, "You know I can't stand still for too long. My ADHD won't let me."

"I know, but it is almost over. Eddie should be done soon and the three of us can know what to do from there," Nika said.

 **Meanwhile in the testing area**

Eddie's paws were placed on both sides of the desk he was sitting at, his eyes closed in thought as he waited for the rest of the mammals to finish their answering. The human had finished within twenty minutes of sitting down. He then checked his work to make sure he didn't answer incorrectly. The social studies questions he wasn't sure were right because he did not know much about Zootopia's history despite living there for years; but the math, english and science questions he was fairly confident were correct.

"Excuse me, sweetie," a voice came from Eddie's side.

He turned and saw that Mrs. Ward was looking up at him, the older squirrel smiling as she waited for a reply. "Yes ma'am?" Eddie said with a smile of his own.

"Do you need help answering the questions?" the other mammal said, still smiling up at the human.

"No ma'am, I'm actually done," Eddie said.

"What?" the squirrel said, shocked by his response.

"I'm done, I'm just waiting for everyone else to be finished," he said, which earned a few angry looks from the other mammals in the class.

"Do you mind if I take a look?" Mrs. Ward said as she pointed to the small pile of paper.

"Not at all, Mrs. Ward," the human said.

The squirrel looked over the answer sheet, her eyes growing in surprise as she read Eddie's work. As the human suspected, quite a few of the history questions were wrong; but even then, Eddie had enough answers right to pass the test and not have to take the remedial classes. "How old did you say you were again, dear?" Mrs. Ward asked, double checking to make sure she didn't make a mistake.

"Nineteen, ma'am. Though I will be twenty soon," Eddie answered, his teeth showing through his grin.

 **Back in the lobby**

"Is he done finally?" Lina asked as she saw the human being led by the squirrel, which actually was a funny sight when the hyena thought about it.

"He is, but I have a few questions if you don't mind?" the red squirrel said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her snout.

"Uh-oh," Nika said after placing her paperback back in her purse.

"You said that Edward was born in Anthros, correct?" Mrs. Ward asked.

"Yes, that's right," Lina said, her arms crossed as she wondered where this was leading.

"Do you know if anyone helped him prepare for the test?"

"No, nobody did," Nika said with an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"And he is nineteen?" the red squirrel asked, Eddie looking uncomfortable at the mammal's questions.

"Yes!" Lina shouted, getting frustrated and wondering what was going on.

"All right," Mrs. Ward said before turning back toward the human, her tail swishing back and forth. "Mr. Bismarck Edward Jackson," she said, looking up at the young male and handing him a rolled up piece of paper, "Here is your diploma."

"What?" Lina said with a confused look on her muzzle.

"He scored a high enough average to pass and not have to take any classes. To be honest, I thought he was in college, had some form of advanced education here in the city, or cheated in order to have scored so high," the squirrel said, smiling up at the surprised human as he looked at his diploma in awe and read the words written on it. "But, I can tell he didn't cheat since each test in generated completely at random to prevent mammals from memorizing and trying get the correct answers the next time they take it."

"Why did you ask where I am from then?" Edward asked as he looked down at the small mammal.

"Just curious," Mrs. Ward said, still smiling up the taller male, "If they can produce a smart young male like you, then their education system must be good."

"Well," Lina said, impressed that Eddie had done so well but not wanting to show it, "Let's go then, I'm starting to get hungry while waiting for your smart ass."

"Yeah," Nika said, happy that her new friend had done so well, "I know a great predator restaurant nearby that we can eat until the bus comes back."

"All right," Eddie said, placing the rolled up diploma in a breast pocket. "Thank you, Mrs. Ward. You don't know how much this means to me," he said as head his paw out to shake the squirrel's.

"It's no problem, dear. It was my pleasure," the red squirrel smiled again as she shook Eddie's paw.

"Let's go, Ed!" the hyena shouted from down the hall, already trying to leave with or without her chauffeur.

"Lina!" Nika said as she walked toward the other female, "You don't know where the diner is!"

"Thank you, again," Eddie said before running after the females who were suppose to be his charges.

As the small prey mammal watched the trio turn around the corner, she pulled a cell phone from her pocket and dialed a number. "Hello?" Mrs. Ward said after she heard a click on the other end of the line.

"What is it?" another female voice answered.

"You wanted me to keep you informed if a certain human showed up at city hall," the squirrel said, a scowl forming on her once friendly face.

"What of it?" the voice said, annoyed for whatever reason.

"I just handed him a G.E.D. diploma."

"..."

"Hello?" Mrs. Ward said, looking at her phone to make sure she didn't lose the connection.

"What was his condition and who was he with?" the voice asked.

"He seemed healthy and he was with a tigress and hyena."

"Do you get his current address?"

"Of course," Mrs. Ward replied.

"Send it to me," the voice commanded, "You'll receive your reward as soon as the information is confirmed. Hail the Chancellor."

The squirrel whispered into the phone as one of her colleagues walked by, "Hail the Chancellor."

A dial tone emanated from the cell phone. The red squirrel smiled as she stared at her phone and thought of the huge sum of money about to be deposited into her offshore account. Years of spying for the Anthrothian government were finally going to pay off. As soon as she received payment, Mrs. Ward and her husband Arthur were going to go on a well deserved retirement vacation.

 **Outside City Hall**

"Wait up you two!" Eddie shouted as he chased after Lina and Nika.

"Where's this diner at anyway?" LIna asked as she looked over her shoulder to the tigress behind her.

"It's south of here, past the subway station," Nika said, panting slightly as she caught up with her friend.

Lina looked past Nika and saw that Eddie was still a ways off before catching up to them down the flight of steps. "Ok," she said to Nika, "That was weird!"

"What was?" Nika said, confused.

"I mean, how did that ape manage to score so high on the test without a lick of studying? He's only nineteen!"

"So? Age has nothing to do with intelligence. I mean look at my brother. He's older than me but he has the brains of a rock," Nika said with a laugh.

"I'm serious," Lina said with a growl, "And what was with all the questioning? Why did that rodent want to know all that stuff about Ed?"

"Ok, now you are just being silly. I mean you just asked how Eddie passed without any studying, so I'm sure Mrs. Ward was just as curious too."

"Hmph," Lina said as Eddie finally caught up.

"Where are we heading to?" Eddie gasped.

"Joe's Chicken Koop," Nika said as she looked down at the human with a huge grin on her face.

"Sounds delicious," Eddie said with a grin of his own.

"Come on then," Lina said, turning around and started to walk down the sidewalk.

"Wrong way, Lina," Nika pointed in the opposite direction that the hyena was heading.

"Whatever," the hyena walked back, her arms behind her head as she let her tigress friend lead the way.

 **A short while later at Joe's Chicken Koop**

Eddie found the small diner to be a little cute. The restaurant had a farm-meets-the-50s theme and seemed to cater to mainly predator patrons. As the three mammals walked up to a lynx waitress, who wore a uniform that reminded them of a picnic blanket with a name tag that said 'Rita', the human noticed that he was receiving a few glares and looks from a group of six jaguars sitting at the large red counter. "How can I help you today?" the waitress said, smiling up at her newest customers.

"Table for three, please," Nika said.

"Right this way then."

The waitress took the trio to a side booth and handed each of them a menu before saying that someone would take their order in a few moments. Lina sat opposite of Nika and Eddie, who had a concerned look on his face. "So," Lina looked over her menu selections as she spoke, a smile forming on her muzzle, "Bismarck, huh?"

The human sighed as he placed his menu back on the table, "I should've known that you'd of said something."

Lina started to chuckle at the exasperated look on Eddie's face. "I don't think I've ever heard that name before either," Nika tried to defuse the situation while holding back her own giggles.

"I'll have you know," Eddie said, pointing a finger at the laughing hyena, "That Bismarck is a very respectable name in Anthros."

"Why is that?" Nika asked curiously.

Eddie gave her a small shrug before saying, "I think it is because Bismarck was our very first Chancellor; so mammals thought that maybe if they name their kits after him. maybe they'll be as much of a success."

"Chancellor?" Lina thought that the term Eddie had used was familiar, but couldn't remember from where she heard it.

The male nodded and explained. "The Chancellor is our military's highest rank," Eddie said, "He or she basically is the second most powerful and influential human in Anthros. The only other mammal who outranked him was our King. However, since the Royal Family was assassinated in a terrorist attack almost twenty years ago, the current Chancellor is basically our nation's leader."

"Assassinated? How did that happen?" Lina asked, starting to remember more bits of what her father's conversations that she had overheard when she was a cub.

"I don't the details," Eddie answered with another shrug, "But I think a group of non-humans terrorists placed a bomb on the jet the Family used and it exploded while they were traveling for a diplomatic mission."

"Non-human?" Nika said as she looked at the human with a concerned face.

"Sorry," Eddie flinched as he realized what he said, "Mammals who are not human are called that. You see, human are the dominant species in my country. Because of that, other species are not considered equals and as a result there are equal-rights groups who use violence to get the government to concede to their demands."

"Wow," Nika said in shock.

"They were fools," Eddie was angry now, "If you want things to get better, you don't cause harm to others. No matter the reason, it diminishes the morality if others are sacrificed needlessly."

"Hey," Lina was getting worried at the human's sudden mood swing, "Calm down, ape boy."

Eddie twitched at Lina's remark. "Sorry," he said embarrassedly, "I get a little passionate sometimes."

"That's ok," Nika replied, picking up her menu and making a decision on what she wanted to eat. "Lina gets that way sometimes when talking about the military."

"I do not," the hyena said before picking up her own menu.

"Oh, yes you do. Remember that time when Daddy insulted that mongoose sergeant at the park one time, and how you almost bit his head off when he refused to apologize?"

"Hey, your dad is an ass. Though, that might be an insult to all donkeys out there."

The young male laughed. "I take you are interested in joining the armed forces?"

"No," Lina said after a moment, "At least, not now anyway. My family is filled to the brim with military personnel, and I don't think I'd stand out more if I was one too despite my species."

Eddie gave the hyena a questioning look and said, "'Despite my species'? What does that mean?"

"Lina is adopted," Nika answered before her friend could speak, "Her father is an Indian elephant and her mother was an black rhinoceros."

"Was?"

"Mama Faru… she died two years ago," Lina said after a moment.

"Oh," Eddie felt stupid for asking, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"What about you?" Lina asked, trying to deflect the questioning onto someone else, "Anybody back home who are worried about you?"

Nika shook her head to try to get her friend to stop. The tigress remembered the story Gazelle told her last night, and she knew that Eddie's family might be a sensitive subject. To her surprise though, the human let out a deep and loud laugh that cause the other patrons of the restaurant to look their way, including the jaguars that Eddie noticed earlier. "No," Eddie finally said after calming down, "I'm afraid my family are not too concerned about their pariah."

Before Lina could ask what he meant, Rita came back to their table and asked if they were ready to order. The human ordered a chicken sandwich and cola; Nika ordered the tuna salad with water; while Lina ordered a bug burger with all the fixings and sweet tea. The feline nodded her head and went to gather their food.

As Eddie was about to talk to the hyena sitting in front of him, a gruff voice said "Hey you, monkey!"

The human and tigress turned to see that one of the jaguars had got up from his seat and was stomping toward. The large cat was wearing what appeared to be some sort of biker or gang clothing, which matched the ones his friends wore as well. This did not feel good to Eddie. "Can I help you, sir?" Eddie said with a smile as the feline arrived to the table.

"What do you think you are doing here?" the jaguar said in the same gruff accent from before.

"I'm sorry?" the human said.

"I said what are you doing here, ape?" the jaguar said as he bent down to look Eddie squarely in the face.

"Enjoying a lunch with two beautiful females," Eddie replied, his kind smile still on his face.

At the 'beautiful female' comment, both Lina and Nika flushed visibly but thankfully were unnoticed by the two males. "I see only one cute female, tree climber," the jaguar, giving a Nika a wink, "And two freaks who don't belong here."

"Freaks?" Lina said as she got angry at the jaguar's aggression.

"Sir," Eddie said as he tried to calm the situation, "Please leave us alone. We do not want any trouble."

"Oh, trouble already found you, boy," the jaguar scoffed, "You humans think you can into our city and enjoy the rewards of our hard work. You are nothing more than ticks, sucking the life out of other countries that are stupid enough to let you in."

"Listen here, pussy," Lina said getting madder with each syllable the feline spoke

"Stay out of this scavenger bitch," the jaguar looked toward the hyena and gave her a deep, threatening growl. "Real males are talking."

That caused the human to stand up, causing him to tower over the bent over cat. Suddenly, Eddie grabbed the jaguar by the back of his neck and slammed his face into the table. "Apologize," Eddie said through gritted teeth. "Now!"

"Why?" the jaguar said trying to look up at the human. "I didn't do nothing!"

Eddie lifted the jaguar's head and banged it again on the table. "Apologize to the young female that you just called a bitch. NOW!"

"I don't gotta do nothing," the feline growled and shouted a command to her companions at the counter.

The five other jaguars stood up and started to walk toward the booth table their leader was at. "HOLD IT!" a loud shout came from the counter, followed by the click of a shotgun being loaded.

Everyone turned and saw, standing on top of the red countertop, was a raccoon wearing a white apron and holding a shotgun that was as long as he was tall. "You disturb on hair on my customers, Carlos, and I'll blow you all to kingdom come! I told you not to harass anymore mammals in my diner, and yet here you are doing it again! Just wait until your father hears about this!"

The feline gang stopped in their tracks, not wanting the raccoon to accidently shoot the large weapon in their directions. "Let Carlos go, human," the raccoon said, still pointing the gun at Carlos' friends.

"Not until he says 'I'm sorry for insulting you, oh pretty hyena'," Eddie said, his own paw still at the back of Carlos' neck.

"Do it then, Carlos," the raccoon commanded.

"No way," Carlos growled, but was slammed against the table again when he refused. "I'm sorry for insulting you, oh pretty hyena," the jaguar growled.

"Say it like you mean," Eddie said, smiling as he was enjoying teaching the bully a lesson.

Carlos repeated himself, this time without the growl. The human let go and allowed the cat to stand up. Nika and Lina stared at the human in amazement. "How did you hold him like that?" the tigress asked

"Oh, felines have a nerve cluster at the back of the neck, which interrupt their signals to the rest of the body when pinched or grabbed," Eddie said, looking a bit embarrassed at his outburst.

"Leave Carlos, and don't think that your paw won't hear about this!" the raccoon shouted.

The jaguars exited the diner, all of them giving Eddie a scared look as they left. "I am sorry, sir," Eddie said to the raccoon after he had gotten up and walked toward the smaller mammal.

"No need, son," the raccoon said after he had gotten down and placed the shotgun under the counter. "Meals free by the way."

"No need for that, Mr…" Eddie started to say before he was interrupted by the chef.

"Joey, Joey Cooper," the raccoon said, "And you shouldn't have had to experience that damn prejudice in my establishment. Besides, any male who is willing to stand for his females get a free meal when I'm around."

Eddie's face turned bright red at the chef's comment, but thanked the raccoon for the offer. "Well," Lina said with a small smile after Eddie had sat back down, "Thank you."

"For what?" Eddie said, confused at the hyena's kind tone.

"Not a lot of mammals are willing to stand up for hyenas," Lina said, looking down at the table to avoid looking at the human in the eyes.

"Oh," Eddie said, "Well, I don't like bullies. And you can insult me as much as you want; but if you insult the ones I like, you might wind up getting hurt." Eddie rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed by his outburst again.

"I thought it was quite brave," Nika said, still blushing from hearing Eddie say 'beautiful females' earlier.

"Thank you," Eddie said, his face getting redder with each compliment he received.

"Here you go," Rita the lynx waitress said as she handed each of the customers their perspective dish. "And thank you for standing up to Carlos, sweetie," Rita said as she placed Eddie's meal in front of him.

"It wasn't a problem at all," Eddie said with his signature kind smile.

Nika was about to glare at the lynx, but stopped when the waitress left. "Well, today isn't turning out too bad," Lina said with a big grin on her face as she dug into her burger.

"Indeed," Nika agreed, smiling down at her human friend as he enjoyed his sandwich.

 **Meanwhile on the other side of the world**

Inside a dark, windowless room stood two human females, one with blonde fur on her head and the other with red. Both females were dressed in military style grey uniforms and black boots, along with sabers attached to their hips and their head fur tied into what looked like a tail. At the far end was a desk with its occupant's chair turned away from the two females. "Sir," the red head spoke first, "We believe he has finally surfaced in the city where we lost him."

"Yes," the blond said in a sarcastic tone, "Apparently the little beast-lover never left the city with hundreds of nonhuman whores."

The red haired female glare before continuing, "He had just obtained documents which would legally complete his basic education level based on Zootopian law."

The occupant remained quiet and allowed the female to continue speaking, "We also have his current residence in the Meadowlands district and are currently working to find out what he had been for the past half decade."

"Are there any other mammals living there?" the occupant said in a deep and graveling voice.

"Yes, the widow Abigail Osamu and several other tenants. We are still gathering information on them, Sir," the blonde answered.

The chair turned and revealed an older male human wearing a brown and khaki colored uniform. The male had a deep scar over his right eye that went down to his chin and had graying blonde fur on the top of his own head. His eyes were a shade blue that seemed to have seen great many terrible things in his time, but had a deep fire in them that did not diminish with age. He reached over and grabbed a photo that was taken from a security camera at Zootopia's City Hall no more than a little over several hours before. In the picture was Eddie as he was walking down the hallways in search of where to take his test.

"Just say the word and we can finish what was started," the blonde female said with a evil smile on her face.

"No," the male shook his head and placed the photo back, "We will wait. I want to make sure that he hasn't sullied the human race any further than he already has. Find out if there are any special mammals in his life to be used against him if he becomes uncooperative."

"Damage control, Sir?" the red female asked with concern.

The male nodded his head, "I don't want anyone finding out who he really is. If any of those beasts find out who his family is, it is only a matter of time before he or someone close to him finds out his true heritage and threaten our rule."

The females nodded, not really understanding the reason but knew not to question their father. "So as soon as we get done with the background checks, can we pick up our little brother?" the blonde said with another evil smile, "I did so miss the little experiments and training exercises we put him through."

"You mean you put him through, don't you?" the red female said with a smile of her own. "I plan on having a long overdue discussion with him when we bring him home."

"Enough you two," the male said in a tired voice, "I will make the final decision after the backgrounds come back. In the meantime, no one from Anthros is to make contact until I personally give the order. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir," the females said in unision.

"Good, you are dismissed."

The females raised their right arms, their paws extended flat as they both shouted,"Heil the Chancellor!"

The male smiled darkly as he heard the salute. No matter how many times he heard the phrase, he will never get tired from hearing his daughters and citizens say it. The Chancellor picked up the photo again, still smiling darkly as two of his four daughters left the room. "It has been long time," he said while looking at the black and white photo of Eddie, "My son."

 **There you go everyone! Now that you have finished reading the latest chapter, I have a small favor for all my loyal readers: Share this story with as much people as possible. I want to hear reviews from all over to world so I can improve and cater to a wider audience, so please share my story so I can do a better job on future chapters. Thank you and goodnight/day!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own Disney or any of its properties.**

 **Oba's house**

Jill is once more banging her head on a wooden table, though this one was located in the same library that Eddie met Aziza the previous night. Surrounding her on all sides were stacks of books that were taller than she was, which actually wasn't that much of a feat when you thought about it. The bunny had spent several hours last night trying to research as much as she could on Anthros and its citizens, but all that Jill could find were the basic facts and figures that could be found on any online encyclopedias. There appeared to be nothing about human culture, language, or even about their economy. The only thing that was remotely important was a travel site that promised a trip to the famous Walls of Anthros, an architectural landmark that outlined the ancient western and eastern borders of the country thousands of years ago. So after finding nothing that she could use to further her research on the web, Jill decided to do it the old fashion way: reading books.

"Here you go," Biyu said as she laid another stack of books on the table that Jill banged her head on. "This is all that I could find that might even give us a glimmer of info on that Creator damned country."

The red panda had run into Jill as she too was making her way to the library. But while the rabbit was doing research for a school project, Biyu was trying to find out more about where Gazelle had come from. After seeing how the pop star had reacted, Biyu knew that her friend wouldn't want to talk to her more about her past until Gazelle was ready. So here they were, two small mammals in a great big library trying find information on a country they knew next to nothing about. The red panda had climbed the shelves while the rabbit quickly scanned each book that was brought to her.

"Urgggg!" Jill growled and banged her head again, "There is absolutely nothing in here! How can that be?"

Every book and manuscript that Biyu found seem to contain even less information than what Jill found on the internet. The best they could find were odd collections of myths and legends that originated from Anthros and a history of the kings and queens that ruled the country. There wasn't even a book on how the Walls were constructed or why.

"You know," Biyu said as she was rubbing her paw in thought, "Maybe we should ask Aziza."

"Why?" the rabbit lifted her head and looked at the red panda, an eyebrow raised in apprehension.

"Well," Biyu continued, "She did her doctorate on humans, right? Maybe she could answer the questions that we need answered."

"Yeah, like why is it that the most we can find is this?" Jill said as she held up an old book titled _The Weretribes of Anthros_. "I mean, seriously? Listen to this," the rabbit opened the manuscript and read a page, "'The most savage of the Weretribes were the members of the Wolf's Tribe. Those that are born into this Tribe are filled with a undeniable thirst for blood and flesh. Madness overtook them at an early age as the ignorant, evil nonhuman side struggle for control over the righteous and noble human side.' Come on! The way that this is reading, it sound's like they believe that crazy hybrid monsters will come and eat their kits in the middle of night!"

Biyu shook her head in agreement. "It sound's like they are very xenophobic. I mean, **really** xenophobic. I'm starting to see why Gazelle left."

Jill's ears perked at Biyu's statement. "Gazelle's is from there? Why didn't you say anything?"

The red panda flinched when she realized what she let slip. "Because I don't think it's my place. If she want's to talk, Gazelle will talk about her past."

"All right," Jill said, making a mental note to find a way to trick Gazelle into revealing more information.

"Besides," Biyu said with a shrug, "Aziza will love the chance to show off her knowledge."

Jill laughed. She knew that the lioness lived for any chance to flaunt her superiority over others. Aziza once spent a whole evening making Lina look dumb after the hyena got a D on her college paper. In the lioness's defence, Lina did dye her fur pink as the feline was sleeping on a lounge chair in the mansion garden.

After they placed the books back in their proper place (the tanuki was a stickler for the Dewey Decimal System), the two females made their way to Aziza's room. Biyu knocked on the green and blue door while Jill pulled a pen and pad of paper from her back pocket. "What?!" a shout came from the other side of the wooden door.

"Hey Aziza, we need your help with something!" Biyu shouted back, causing the rabbit to jump as high as the red panda.

"I'm busy," the lioness replied, "Go away."

"We want to ask you some questions about Anthros," the red panda said, her arms crossed as she waited for the predator to answer back.

A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal the lioness wearing a dirty lab coat and saying in a gruff voice said, "Come in then."

The rabbit and red panda walked in and saw a room that was cluttered with mechanical and electronic equipment. Wires and screws littered the floor, causing the guests to step lightly so as not to accidently step on them. For someone who carried herself with such poise and grace, when Aziza was in a inventing funk, she could be so disorganized and messy until she whatever problem she had. Biyu knew that once the lioness figured out whatever problem vexed her, the room would be spotless and clean.

Aziza wiped some crumpled papers and trash off of her bed and offered her guests a seat before grabbing one of her own. "What do you want to know?" the large feline asked once everyone was settled.

"Well, for starters," Jill asked, continuing to write notes as she asked, "What do you know about humans?"

The lioness scoffed and leaned back into her chair with her legs crossed before saying, "You are going to have to be more specific, little bunny. There is a lot that I do and don't know about humans, but not all of it is interesting for mosts."

"How about why they are so… antisocial for one?" the rabbit asked.

"Well," Aziza said in deep thought, "Human culture, in a lot of ways, is very similar to most mammal societies. However, what makes them unique is that while most of us had claws, fangs or 'natural' talents, humans had to rely on their wit and cunning to survive all these millennia. Humans worked together in order to survive against powerful predators and to hunt down prey. But because they stuck with their own kind and were too fearful of those who were different from them, it took centuries for them to realize that other mammals had become sentient as well. Once they discovered that, the humans isolated themselves even further by going to the most inhospitable region of the world. I imagine that when your food or your natural enemy starts to talk and converse with you, you might overreact just a tad bit."

"What about their customs? Like, what are their marriage rituals or how do they honor their dead?" Jill asked, quickly writing down everything Aziza said.

Aziza laughs, "They used to have a ton of elaborate wedding and funeral ceremonies. But ever since the Chancellor took over, most 'needless' and 'superstitious' events have been banned."

"Why?" Biyu said, surprised that the humans would no longer honor traditions.

"When the Chancellor and his party came into power after the King and Queen's death, he forced the human nation to focus entirely on advancing its technological and medical areas. Before he took over, Anthros was still stuck in the 1920's when it came to pharmaceuticals and they didn't even have a modern computer until almost twenty years ago. Now they are the same level as Zootopia, maybe even higher."

"Hold on," Biyu asked after a moment's thought, "Why can't we find out any of this on the internet or in any books about Anthros or humans in general? I mean, with a country like that, you'd think there'd be a lot more knowledge available."

"The Chancellor's work, again," Aziza explain, "He made it to where any unauthorized information would be destroyed or deleted. In fact, the Anthrothian Department of Education has a whole division dedicated to controlling what is and isn't said on any broadcasts within its borders."

"Wow," Jill said after she stopped writing on her pad, "How do you know all this? The only thing we managed to find out on our own were a bunch of myths and legends."

Aziza looked confused, "Myths? What myths?"

The rabbit and red panda looked at one another before Jill said, "You know, the ones about the 'Weretribes.'"

"Oh," the lioness smiled, "Those aren't myths, sweetie. Those were very real at one point in Anthros' history."

"Yeah, right," Biyu said in disbelief, "Everyone knows that those kind of hybrids can't exist. I mean, a wolf and a coyote sure. But a wolf and human crossbred? Come on. What's next, a pig growing wings and fly?"

"I admit, I thought the same thing when I first arrived in that country all those years ago. But, after I had done some research and talked to the locals, I came to the conclusion that the Weretribes actually did indeed exist; just not what you'd expect."

 **Back at Joe's Chicken Koop**

"So," Lina said after she finished devouring her meal, "What are you plans, Eddie? I mean, you don't plan on being a driver forever do you?"

The human continued to chew his sandwich for several seconds before saying, "I'm honestly in the same boat as you, Lina. All I've been doing for years was survive; and now that I have the opportunity to actually have more money than I know what to do with, I don't know what I'll do after I save enough."

The answer stunned the hyena. She had assumed that Eddie must have some idea, maybe even an inkling on what to do for the future. But then again, who was she to talk since she herself was twenty-six and hadn't even finished a major in college yet.

"What are your interests then?" Nika asked, looking down at the human with a kind smile.

"Well," Eddie said, his skin blushing as he thought about about a dream he had as a young kit, "I always thought it would be great to be publisher. Or maybe an art dealer."

"Really? Why?" the tigress asked curiously.

"When I was on the streets, I saw a lot of mammals who were artists or great writers and were never given a chance. I figure, maybe I could help others get a chance to show the world their work," Eddie explained, embarrassed and wondering why he was telling the two females this. "You see, there was this homeless otter who drew portraits for tourists so she could make enough money for food. Her artworks were so good, that at first I thought they were photos."

"Were?" Lina asked as she wiped a napkin across her muzzle.

"Yeah," Eddie said sadly, his arms crossed on the table as he lean. "She died of a disease she received while doing...other kinds of work to feed herself."

"Other..oh," Nika said, a sad frown forming across her face as she realized what the human meant.

"If I can help just one mammal from meeting the same kind of fate, then I would be a very happy human," Eddie said with a kind but sad smile as he thought of his old friend.

"Here you go," the lynx waitress returned and placed a large slice of blueberry pies in front of each of her human customer.

"Um, Ms. Rita, I didn't order this," Eddie said, confused by the dessert in front of him.

"Oh, Joe wanted to thank you some more by giving y'all some of his famous pies on the house," the lynx said as she gave the human a coy wink. "You're lucky, honey. Cause not a lot of mammals get a chance to taste Joseph's pies fresh out of the oven."

Eddie picked up his fork and cut a small piece of the pie before placing it in his mouth. To his amazement, the dessert was the most delicious one he had ever tasted. "Wow," he said after swallowing, "This tastes amazing!"

"Really?" Lina said, her tail wagging in excitement, "Can I try a bite?"

"Me too," Nika said, her own tail waggin as well.

Eddie blushed before taking his fork to cut off a piece of his pie to give to one of the females. He lifts up his utensil and moves it toward the tigress while his hand was under the pie piece to keep from dropping crumbs. Nika took a delicate bite of the dessert, blushing as she realized how intimate this might look. "Mmmm," she moaned, "It is good!"

The human repeated the process with the hyena, who chomped so hard onto his fork that Eddie was surprised that the metal wasn't bitten off as well. "Yeah, no kidding," Lina said after she swallowed her piece.

Unknown to the three mammals, the lynx waitress and raccoon cook were looking at the group with amused looks on their muzzles. "That male is quite a charmer, isn't he?" Rita gave her boss a nudge in the shoulder.

"Humph, I guess. You know what they say about humans though," Joe said with a shrug.

"What's that?"

"Humans are more promiscuous than rabbits," the raccoon stated as he walked back to his kitchen.

"If you really believe that, then you wouldn't have thanked him for standing up to Carlos," Rita said, still smiling at the group of mammals as they enjoyed the shared pie.

After they had finished the dessert and thanked Joe for waving the check, Lina called for a Zoober cab to take them back home. As they waited for the car to arrive, Eddie asked the tigress, "So what do you want to do with your life, Nika?"

"Oh," Nika blushed yet again as she answered, "I want to be a public defender."

"Really?"

"Yes," the tigress nodded, "I think that everyone deserves a fair defence, no matter what they may or may not have done or how much they can afford. Though my family thinks that I should be in a private practice so I can make more money."

"I think that is a very noble pursuit, Nika," Eddie said with another kind smile.

"I told her so too," Lina said as she spotted the Zoober car pulling, "Plus, if it pisses off her parents and brother, then I'm all for it."

The trio laughed as they got into the vehicle and headed back to their home in the Meadowlands. 'Home,' Eddie thought as he sits between the two females in the backseat, 'That sounds really nice.'

 **Back at Oba's house, in the garden**

Gazelle turned a page in her favorite dog eared paperback, a sad sigh leaving her lips as she reads. The diva had decided to go outside and enjoy the afternoon sun while lounging on a chair in a red one piece swimsuit and reading her most prized possession. The book had been a gift from an anonymous fan and in it was a collection of poems written by a human writer named William Shakespeare. Gazelle had learned a little about the poet from her days at St. Francis, and found him to be an inspiration for her when she had writer's block on one of her songs. She recalled how Shakespeare was a bard in the service of a famous Queen in Anthros' past, who used his position in court to publish and produce a great number of popular works. Gazelle loved how the author wrote of feelings of love, loss and anger; all of which she herself seemed to be feeling now. She never found out who had given her the book, but the only clue was a note written on the first page that said, 'As good Will once said 'Be true to yourself'.'

The pop star let out another sigh as she reads another line of Shakespeare's sonnets when she heard someone approaching. "Whatcha got there, sweetie?"

Skye had gone outside to work in one of the garden's rose patches and had put on a pair of blue overalls and an old fade green t shirt. The only that seemed to be clean on the vixen was a gold ring she wore on her left paw. "Nothing really," Gazelle answered as she set the book down beside her. "What's up?"

"Just enjoying the good earth and trying to get those damned roses to bloom," Skye said as she put a pair of work gloves in her pants pocket and sat at the end of Gazelle's chair. "So," she continued, turning her blue eyes toward the prey animal, "How are you doing?"

"I'm ok, why?" the gazelle raised an eyebrow in apprehension.

"Well," the vixen leaned back, her paws on the chair as she lifts her head to look up at the sky, "I overheard you and Nika last night."

"Oh," Gazelle said, "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know you're not really ok. So tell me how you really feel, sweetie," Skye said, turning her head back to her friend.

Gazelle pulled her legs up and placed her chin on her knees as she thought of what to say. "Confused, hurt, and angry, I think," the female said in a sad tone.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know," Gazelle sighed, wishing she really did know what to do or say.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Skye asked after a few awkward moments of silence.

The celebrity smiled and laughed as she said, "Go ahead."

"Have you talked to Eddie?"

"No," Gazelle answered as she shook her head, "I just… I just don't know what I'm going to say to him. I mean, after what I said to him last night, I don't think he will want to talk to me anyway."

"You never know till you try, sweetie," the vixen said with a sad smile as she looks at the gold ring on her finger, "If I had the chance to be with someone I'd lost, I would spend every last moment him."

"Who was he? I know that you really don't like to talk about your work with the ZBI, but if I'm talking about my past then it is only fair you should talk about yours," the gazelle said as she tilted her head apprehension.

Skye let out a short laugh before saying, "Fair enough sweetie, but to in all honesty I don't think that reading old books will help you solve your problems. If you want to resolve your feelings, you two need to sit down and talk it out."

"Oh? I tell you what, if I see Eddie in the next ten seconds I will try to have a conversation with him. If he doesn't you get to tell me who Mr. Savage was, deal?"

Meanwhile on one of the garden paths, Jill and Biyu are following Aziza as the lioness explained her theory on the Weretribes. "According to the Scriptures, man was the first creation to be give free will and a soul by the Creator. When Adam named all the animals, he was very lonely and asked his Maker to allow the other species to interact with him as he himself interacted with his Father. The Maker said that if any of the animals ate of the seeds of the first tree, they would be like Adam and walk and talk as he did."

"Get to the point already," Jill thought as she listened to the predator.

"The insects were repelled by the seeds, the fish could not swallow them, and the reptiles did not seem to care. The birds refused to eat them, for they enjoyed the freedom off the heavens and they did not care about the affairs of the Earth. The only ones who took of the seeds were the warm blooded mammals like Adam himself. When the last of mammals ate of the seed, the Creator said that so long as Adam's blood still flowed, they would be as he is."

"And the point of this religious lesson is?" Biyu said, tired of the long winded females lecture.

"The point is," Aziza continued, "That if you look past the analogy, you will see what we all have in common. What is required for a new life to be made?"

"What?" Jill asked, confused.

"Sperm, also known as?" Aziza asked, waiting for an answer from the two prey females.

"Seed," Biyu answered, realization dawning on her as she figured what the lioness is implying. "Are you saying that Adam fucked animals until Eve was made?"

"No," Aziza rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Don't be ridiculous. I am saying that the story is an analogy of human's ability to adapt. When I was in Anthros, I did a DNA analysis on random humans to observe their diversity and to figure out why they have a variety of skin colors and features. What I discovered startled me beyond belief."

"What?" Jill asked again, getting frustrated at the lioness's lecture and wishing she would get to the point!

"That the humans of Anthros are not just one species. According to their own genetic structure, humans are descended from multiple hybrids of primates. This resulted in an unusual mutation, which allows their DNA to combine with other mammal species. I'm not saying that was how we acquired sentience, but it does explain the stories that they have of 'Weretribes' and other mammal cultures don't."

"Hold up," Jill said, her paws raised to stop the feline from speaking, "If that's true, then wouldn't there be more of these hybrids walking among us?"

Aziza shook her head and answered, "Not if you remember Anthros' anti-interspecies laws as well as their cultural practices. Such unions were very rare, and they did not always guarantee a cub to be produced. And even if a hybrid is born, it would more than likely be sterile and never reproduce more of its own kind."

"Wow," Biyu said, shocked at this stunning revelation, "Can you imagine what the world would look like if humans just got over their prejudices?"

The lioness nodded in agreement, "Imagine also the benefits their DNA could provide in curing all kinds of genetic and population problems."

Just as the trio were walking close to where Gazelle and Skye were sitting, Eddie and his two new friends arrived through the same back way that Gazelle and Biyu took the previous night and in time for the pop star to lose her own bet. "Oh," the human said as he noticed the prey mammal sitting in her lawn chair, "Excuse us."

Eddie tried to walk but Gazelle said, "No, wait. Please, Edward, can we talk?"

The human appeared to be both confused and conflicted. Eddie did want to make things better between him and Gazelle, but for some reason fear gripped his chest like a vice.

Nika and Lina both looked at eachother before the hyena said, "We'll...just go on ahead. See you in a bit, Eddie."

The two predator mammals walked further down toward the house before both hid behind a bush that was close enough for them to spy on the human and gazelle. "I'd best be heading off then," Skye said as she went off to both give the two privacy and find her own hiding spot.

Aziza, Jill, and Biyu remained where they first heard everyone else speak so they too could listen in on the pop star's and humans conversation. Eddie took Skye's spot on the chair, a sigh escaping his lips. "So," Eddie began, "What do you want to talk about?"

"First off," Gazelle said, "I'm sorry for the slap. Really sorry."

Eddie looked confused, then started to laugh. "Don't worry about it, Gazette," he said as he quieted down.

"Wow," the celebrity said, her chin still sitting on her knee.

"What?"

"It's so strange to be called that, even after all these years," Gazelle said with a sad smile.

"Sorry," Eddie said, rubbing the back of his neck in awkwardness. "I guess I'll always know you as that sweet female who had big dreams for when she got out Anthros. 'I want to go to Zootopia, where anyone and be anything'," Eddie said with a falsetto voice, a smile forming as he teased his old friend.

Gazelle let out a laugh of her own. "I remember the first time I told you that. I was so worried that you'd laugh at me like everyone else, that I almost didn't tell you."

"Yeah, I remember too. When I didn't say anything, you turned and started to stomp off. I grabbed your wrist so hard to stop you that you fell back on top of me," Eddie said as his redden at the old memory.

"Hehehe, I just remembered how shocked you looked when it happen. Our muzzles were so close together, that I thought we were going to kiss. For a mammal who could take on others twice his size, you sure are nervous around females" Gazelle said, giggling at what she just stated.

Eddie laughed again, still rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I still kinda am, now that I think about it."

The two old friends laughed for a good minute before finally quieting down. "Eddie," Gazelle said, "Please, I need to know what happen."

"What are you talking about?" Eddie replied, even though he knew what she meant.

"What happened that made you disappear like that? Your father and siblings told me that you died in a car accident, that your body burned beyond recognition," Gazelle said, sadness creeping back into her voice. "I wasn't even allowed to go to your funeral and your father banned anyone who wasn't family to visit your grave. For almost a year, I grieved and cried and dealt with the bullying by myself. When I graduated, I still didn't know if I wanted to pursue my dream. But do you know what helped me through it?"

Eddie shook his head, not looking the gazelle in the face as she spoke. "You. I kept asking myself, 'what would Eddie say to me if I told him my doubts?" she lifted her right paw and pointed a digit toward the human, "You'd of said, 'I will drag you by your horns and onto that audition stage myself if you even think about quitting.'"

The human lifted his head and gave her an incredulous look. "Ok," Gazelle said, placing her paw back down, "Maybe not quite like that, but you know what I mean. No matter what, you'd have encouraged me and help me when I doubted myself."

"You would have succeeded with or without me, Gazette. With a voice like yours, there wasn't any doubt that you'd of managed and you did," Eddie said, looking back down at his feet.

"No, Eddie," Gazelle said, moving closer and placing a paw on the human's shoulder, "I was only able to do it because a long time ago you believed in me. You, the most important mammal in my life, said that I could do it. When my parents told me to stop and focus on my studies and become an accountant, it was you who said I should do what makes me happy. The only downside that you said was that you wouldn't get to see how cute I'd be in a secretary outfit."

Eddie blushed and continued to look at the ground as he recalled the conversation she was talking about. The human turned his head and looked at Gazelle's paw, sadness clouding his eyes as he stared. "What do you want, Gazette?" he said, not looking her in the face.

"I want to know what happened," Gazelle said with conviction.

The human did not say anything for several minutes, the female still having her paw on his shoulder. "I don't think I can tell you everything, but if I can give you the minimum details will it be enough?"

Gazelle nodded after she thought for a moment. "I just want to know how you got here in Zootopia," she said.

"Ok," Eddie said, lifting his head to look into Gazelle in the eyes, "Here is what happened…."

 **In Anthros**

The blonde furred female stared at a black and white photograph in her paws. After speaking with the Chancellor, she went back to her office and continued to do research on her brother's fellow tenants. As she waited for information to download onto her computer, she decided to look over the gathered intel from earlier. She noticed how different her brother looked in the photo. Obviously Edward was older now, but there was something different in his facial expression that she did not see too often when they were growing up. The look in his eyes seemed to gleam with laughter and hope. She grinned again as she imagined how she will stamp out his little ray of light. "Knock, knock," a voice said from the office door.

"What do you want, Beatrice?" the blonde female said, not looking up from her photo.

A dark skinned, black haired female wearing a similar uniform to the other walked into the office. While she was the same height as the blonde, the dark female appeared to be more muscular and fit than the one sitting down. "Our dear sister, Catherine, told me that we finally found our darling brother. Is it true, Aria?" Beatrice said, walking (or skipping rather) over and snatching the picture away from her sister's grasp. "O-M-Goodness, it is! Edward has gotten so handsome!"

"Give it back!" Aria growled.

Beatrice handed back the photo back, a smug smile raising her high cheekbones as she looked at her older sister. "He is so cute now. I just wish you'd stop trying to compete and being hateful with him."

Aria scoffed, "I won a long time ago when Father kicked him out. What do expect of a sexual deviant like him?"

The dark skinned female laughed and sat down on her sister's desk, her legs crossed as she said, "We all have our little vices, Aria. I've been worried for years, ever since Father sent Edward to that city. I mean, it did throw Daddy's plans in disarray when Edward disappeared in Tundratown, but I was kinda hoping that he would still be alive. I'm surprised that he survived with you and Delphi taking him there."

Aria grinned again as she listened to her sister talk. "He won't survive the next time I get my hands on him if Father gives me permission."

"You're kidding right?" Beatrice said, her jovial demeanor disappeared at her sister's statement.

"No, I'm not," Aria said, turning back to the photo as plans started to form in her mind.

"What is going on? Aria, I know you felt a certain way when he came into our lives but we are not little kits anymore. You can't just keep bullying him like you did then."

"You don't have a say in the matter, sister," Aria said, not looking up from her photo.

Beatrice let out a deep sigh and got up from her spot on the desk. "Your green eyed pride will be your downfall, dear older sister."

"Duly noted," Aria said, "Now get out, younger sister."

The dark skinned female walked out and closed the door behind her. Another sigh escaped her lips as she walked away from her sister's office. Beatrice pulled out from her breast pocket a photo that she had stolen from Aria's files. This photo showed Edward laughing and walking with a female hyena and a tigress, seeming to have a good time as they entered a government building. "Little brother, I will figure out what is going on. I'm sorry I didn't do more to protect you, but I will bring you home and give you what is rightfully yours. I'll make it up to you, I swear it. Anthros will have its true ruler soon," tears started to form around Beatrice's eyes as she spoke to the photo, "Just promise me you'll keep yourself safe, my little prince. Just be safe and stay out of trouble."

Little did Beatrice know that trouble already on its way to her little brother. A kind of trouble that will shake the very foundations of the world.

 **There you have it, my dear followers. Sorry it took so long, but as I said before, 'life is a bitch.' Please read, comment on and share this story with the rest of the world! Thank you and good night/day!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own Disney property**

 _Five years ago_

Eddie closed the main door behind Gazette after giving her one last kiss on her cheek. He couldn't even describe how empty he felt as he friend left him alone in the large mansion. Well, not alone per se, and now that he thought about it, Gazette wasn't just a friend anymore. The young human smiled as he walked toward a grand staircase, but stopped when he heard a small, light giggle. He turned and saw his older sister Bea and the head maid, Emilia Otterton standing in one off the side hallways. Beatrice was wearing a white track uniform that contrasted her dark skin, while Emilia wore a simple black dress. Emilia had come to work for the Jackson household for as long as Eddie can remember. One of his favorite memories were of the otter helping him go to sleep when he was a little cub by reading a bedtime story as he held her close like a stuffed animal.

The human female towered over both her brother and the three foot tall otter, making her appear like a giantess as she placed her fists on her hips and continued to giggle. "Looks like our little Prince Charming finally got his princess. Though, I didn't think you'd go for an older female. I guess it's because we have more experience, huh?" she said, giving the otter a playful bump.

The grey furred otter shook her muzzle and said, "Miss Beatrice, please stop teasing Master Edward. Now, Edward," Emilia walked over to her human charge, "You didn't do anything that would… dishonor Gazette did you?"

"Emilia!" Eddie said, his skin reddening as he looked down at the elderly otter, "You know how old I am! It was just a kiss!" Then he said in a small whisper, "Her and my first kiss."

"AWWWWWWW!" Bea squealed as she jumped over and gave her brother a tight hug and swung him around. "My baby brother is all grown up! I knew you and Gazette would be together, no matter what Daddy felt or said."

"Miss Beatrice, put him down!" the otter said, laughing at the sight of the male struggling in his sister's embrace.

"I….can't...breathe...Bea!" Eddie gasped, a smile on his face as he tried to get out of the female's arms. Unlike his other sisters who treated him rather badly, Beatrice was the only one who was affectionate to him. Eddie thought the reason was because Beatrice herself was rather different from her sibling because of her skin color and height, which she inherited from her mother the Second Wife of the Chancellor.

"Excuse me," a soft, but harsh voice said from the same hallway the Beatrice and Emilia came from.

"Yes, Catherine?" Beatrice said, unconsciously holder her brother tighter.

"Father wishes to speak to Edward and has sent me to fetch him," a red haired human said, her arms crossed behind her back as she spoke.

Catherine was the third oldest child, though she was born to the First Wife which made her slightly higher on the social rung of Anthros. Her long red hair was tied and twisted into a bun making her appear to even older to her two siblings. "What does he want, Sister?" Eddie asked after he managed to get out of Beatrice's hold.

The red female shrugged, "He didn't say and I didn't ask. Now come on."

Eddie looked at the two other females and saw the worried looks in their eyes and faces. Despite being portrayed as a family male on the Anthros' media, Father hardly ever interacted with his cubs unless it was at dinner time, something important was about to happen, or they were in big trouble. Eddie really hoped that is was something important.

The young male followed his sibling down the hallway and toward his Father's office. As they arrive, he sees two more females standing on either side of the study's door. On the right stood a female that was the same height as Eddie but had dark black hair and almond shaped eyes. On her hip was a strange and deadly looking sword, with a grey and black scabbard. "Hello, Delphi," Eddie greeted as he walked closer.

Delphi was born to the Third Wife, a female from a Far Eastern country whose family had emigrated to Anthros a century ago along with Beatrice's mother's ancestors. Like her three older sister, Delphi trained in combat and martial skills in order to not rely on bodyguards or to defend her father if said guards failed in their duties. The female took it to a new level when she incorporated the use of blades in her fighting style. She had perfected her swordsmanship so much, that when Father had diplomats and government officials come to visit, he would have her cut solid steel beams as if they were butter.

On the left side stood a female with blonde fur that was groomed in the same style as Catherine's, her dark blue eyes and angular features looked as if they could cut steel. She had no visible weapon like her sister, but there was a dark aura that made most mammals avoid her if possible, especially when they saw the Captain's stripes on her upper arm. "Hello, Aria," the human male said, not looking at the oldest of the Chancellor's children as he stands in front of the door.

The blond female smiled, though that somehow made her appear to be even more scary than she did before. "Father is waiting for you, little brother," Aria said, her voice filled with malice as she said the word 'brother'.

Eddie gulped, opened the study door and walked slowly inside, followed closely by his three sisters. Despite there being a fireplace that was illuminating and warming the small space, the young human felt very cold and like he had walked into a crypt. On the center of the office carpet was emblazoned the national symbol of Anthros: a large, black serpentine dragon with its tail in its mouth encircling a golden crown that appeared to be in flames. Eddie often wondered what the story was behind such heraldry, but no one seemed to know or want to explain it. Despite the image being frightening to some, it calmed and relaxed Eddie as he walked closer to a wooden desk on the other side.

Sitting behind the desk sat an older human male, with blonde fur and blue eyes like Aria but with an almost jovial sense about him as his youngest kit stood in front of him. "Edward," Chancellor Ronald Jackson said with a kind smile at his son, "How are you this evening?"

"Fine, Father," Eddie replied, taken aback by his father's warm welcome.

"I heard from one of the instructors from your school, a Sergeant Alfred Bane, that you are doing well in your studies. You seem to be giving the rest of your classmates quite the workout during Physical Studies, considering you've already been given proper training here since you were a young cub," the Chancellor continued, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he leans back into his chair.

"Well, as you always said Father, 'the body must reflect the mind and the mind reflect the body'," Eddie said, rubbing the back of his head as he chuckled as well.

Despite his age, Chancellor Jackson maintained a strict workout regimen for himself and his children to follow. That regimen required martial arts practice, swordsmanship, and meditation, which Eddie found ironic on the last on since his father was a firm atheist. "And your human classmates? I assume you are treating them with the proper respect they deserve, despite that little mishap on your first day?" the Chancellor asked, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

Eddie stopped rubbing his head and felt his whole body tense at the mention of the Tobias incident. When the young human arrived home on that day, Chancellor had yelled and thrown obscenities at his son for 'embarrassing the Jackson Household' after he had received a email from the Headmaster of St. Francis'. Luckily, when his father found out what a bully Tobias was, he had calmed down enough to simply give Eddie no proper meals for a whole week, just bread and water with no lunches at school. What Chancellor Jackson didn't know was that Emelia Otterton snuck food up to Eddie's room when she woke him up during the week. The young human could never pay the old otter enough back for that.

"Yes," Eddie answered in an uneasy tone, even though he knew that most of the humans steered clear of him once they either found out he was the Chancellor's son or about what he did to Tobias.

Chancellor Jackson simply nodded, appearing to be satisfied with his answer. "Any young human females that you might have taken an interest, hmmm?"

Eddie's blood turned ice cold at the question. "Wh..what, Father?" Eddie stammered, scared at what his father might already know.

Ronald Jackson smiled again, still in the same jovial fashion as before, "Oh come now, Edward, I was a fourteen year old once. I couldn't think of nothing else but females when I was your age. Just curious about any that might have gotten my boy's blood boiling."

The Chancellor's son's blood was still the opposite of boiling when he answered, "Uh, no, Father, I've been too busy studying to notice, unfortunately."

"Hmmm, any nonhuman females then?" the Chancellor asked nonchalantly, his paws crossed as he leaned forward onto his desk, his eyes starting to lose their humorous gleam.

Eddie's whole body tighten, fear gripping him like a python with its meal. "Sir?" he tried to reply in as calm a voice as possible.

"I thought so," the Chancellor said, his voice filled with disappointment as let out a long sigh. "You were telling the truth, Aria. It appears as if our young Edward is a deviant. I am so glad you had caught on."

The human teen turned and stared at the blonde female. 'She told him! How did she know!' Eddie thought, the fear python gripping his heart as Aria let out a soft and harsh giggle. "Anyone with a brain cell could tell you have thing for Gazette, little brother. I just set up a camera in your room and waited for the right moment to present itself. Though I never thought that you'd actually have the courage to go for that bimbo gazelle. Guess what they say about them being 'horny' is true," Aria laughed harder along with Catherine who had joined in on the humiliation by placing her index digits on her head.

Eddie's fists tightened and a growl escaped his lips. He should've known that Aria would pull something like this, just to hurt him. "Don't you dare insult her, you damn bitches!" he shouted, anger warming up his blood as he glared at his oldest sister and not caring that she could do serious damage to his spinal cord if she wanted.

Two of his sisters stared in disbelief, while Delphi stood quietly not seeming to care about what was going on around her. Never has Edward ever raised his voice toward his family members. This prey mammal must really be corrupting him, they thought. "Quiet!" the Chancellor banged a closed fist on his desk, causing several pieces of paper to fly through the air.

The term 'deer in headlights' came to mind when everyone stood as still as Delphi at their father's shout. Everyone knew better than to disobey a command from the old human male.

"Edward, I really didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice," the Chancellor said, once he had a moment to calm down and gathered up the displaced files. "Tomorrow, I am arranging for you to interview for your First Wife."

"Wait what?" Eddie said, confused by what he had just heard.

"I know it maybe a little bit too soon for some, but I met Aria's mother when I was your age and now we have a healthy, normal relationship."

"Hold up," the male teen said, a hand raised like he was stopping someone, "Interview? Normal relationship? What are you talking about?"

"Edward," the Chancellor said in a dangerously calm voice, "The sooner we nip this deviancy in the bud, the better it will be for everyone once you find a nice human wife to tame your urges."

"Better for you maybe, but not me," Edward stated, his arms crossed in defiance.

Even Delphi was shocked at this display, her eyebrows raised like her sisters' in horror. No one, at least to their knowledge, has ever dared to defy the Chancellor and live to tell about it. "What did you say, boy?" Ronald Jackson said in a dangerous tone.

Ignoring the threat in his father's tone, Eddie said, "Don't think that I don't see what's going on, Father. You are just worried that it will leak out that your only son is an 'animal lover' and embarrass the living hell out of you. This isn't about me being in a healthy relationship, it's about saving face and keeping with your damned party's dogma on how non-humans are inferior to the rest of us and how they should never mix with their 'superiors'. Gazette is the first mammal who has ever treated me with love and respect, even after she found out I was your son; and because she isn't human, you want to take that away from me? Well, I won't let you. I will reject my heritage and give my soul to the Devil before I let you keep me from the female I love."

The Chancellor stared unblinking at his son, seeming to be unphased by his outburst. Silence filled the office as the tension became so thick that one could cut it with a knife. Finally, the older human stood up from his chair and turned around as he placed both of his arms behind his back. "Captain Aria," he said in a deep commanding voice, "Arrest him."

"Wha…" Eddie started to say when he heard a crackling sound from behind him and suddenly felt his whole body tense and writhe in pain.

Aria walked around the male's twitching body, smiling sadistically as she watched her brother try to make sense of what had just happened. "That's what you get for calling me a 'bitch', little brother," Aria said, waving a small pink taser in front of Eddie's unfocused eyes before discharging another shot into his upper back as Catherine placed handcuffs around her brother's wrists.

"Don't struggle, it will only make things worse," a small, soft voice spoke into his ear.

Eddie tried to focus on where the sound had come from and saw the business end of a blade that was dangerously close to his right eye. Delphi had stepped forward as well, sword drawn and held close to her brother to encourage him not to resist the arrest, despite Aria's tasing. Catherine placed a knee into Eddie's hip as she locked the cuffs around his wrists, smiling as she saw the fear and confusion in his eyes as he sees Delphi's sword.

"You wish to reject your heritage, Edward?" the Chancellor asked, walking around the desk and watching the scene unfold before him. "You don't even know what that heritage really is. And now you will die, never know what you would have achieved."

The Chancellor snapped a digit, signalling the girls to lift up their captive brother. Eddie glared in anger and hatred for the mammal he had called his father. "So that's it? Just let me die like you did to my mother? Don't think I will go quietly," Eddie spat at the floor near the other male's feet.

"That's right," the Chancellor said with a soft, fake sympathetic voice, "I never did tell you who your mother was. I just let you think that she was some whore I bedded years ago, and that you were a product of that union."

Eddie growled and tried to get free before he felt the sharp steel of the blade across the side of his neck. "The truth is so much more interesting," Ronald said, smiling as he watched his 'son', "But since you've renounced your heritage, I guess I will leave you with this much: your mother wasn't some harlot and I was never your father."

The truth made Eddie feel like he was hit with a hundred of Aria's taser. "What did you say?"

The Chancellor smiled again, "I...am...not...your...father. And you will never know who is once Aria and her subordinates are done with you."

Not caring about the blade to his neck and still unsure on how to take this startling revelation, Eddie shouted, "I won't go quietly, I will fight you tooth and nail!"

"If you don't," Aria whispered in his ear, "I will make sure that your precious little prey will be joining you in whatever afterlife you believe in."

The human teen's eyes widen in fear, "Don't! She has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh?" Aria chuckled, "She is the cause of all this. What do you say, Father? If Eddie were to let Gazette go in his place for his 'punishment', would all be forgiven and we'd all put this silliness behind us?"

The Chancellor's dark smile widened as he answered, "Yes, all would be forgiven. So what will it be, 'Son'? Your freak perverted life or the female's? Which will your sister take?"

Eddie stared back into the Chancellor's eyes as he said, "If I go, will you promise not to harm on fur on her body?"

"You have my word, Edward. I swear by the Crown of Anthros, I will not harm her directly in anyway."

Even though he wasn't a religious mammal, Eddie knew that despite Ronald being an evil bastard, he would not make such an oath in front of witnesses if he did not intend to keep it. The human teen let out one final sigh before making his decision. "I will go then," he said, his shoulder relaxing and his back straightening as he resigned to his fate.

"Excellent," Aria said, upping the voltage before tasing Eddie in the side of his neck, causing him to pass out, darkness overcoming his senses as he hears the words, "About time you let me take out the trash."

 _Today_

"...the next thing I know, I'm being put into a van by a fox in a Pawaiian shirt while being half naked in the middle of Tundratown as he drove me to the hospital," Eddie concluded, his face turned to the ground as he told the story to Gazelle.

"Why did Nick Wilde take you to hospital?" the singer asked, fear gripping her own heart as she waited for an answer.

Eddie's eyes were closed as he mumbled a reply. "What was that?" Gazelle said, dreading what she was about to hear.

Instead of speaking, the human his back toward her and started to pull up his shirt. When Gazelle saw what was being revealed, she gasped, "Is that…?"

"The Mark? Yes, yes it is," Eddie said, pulling his shirt down but not turning around as he continued to speak, "I don't know how I got from Anthros to Zootopia, but I do know that it took almost a whole week for me to get to that point and I don't know how."

Gazelle gaped in horror at her friend's back as she knew the significance of the scars running across the human's back. "That means you can never go back home to human who sees it or knows will kill you for being a traitor."

Eddie scoffed, "Anthros is where I am from, Gazette, but it was never my home. I rejected whatever inheritance I might have had when I made my choice. Even before the Chancellor marked me, I was an outcast." He looked over his shoulder to look at his friend and gave a small, kind and genuine smile. "Until, I met you."

"Eddie," Gazelle felt a lump form in her throat as she pulled herself closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. "You chose me. All these years, and I didn't know that you chose me."

The human felt his face redden as he said, "I chose to let you live, yes." Then he noticed the paperback that Gazelle had hidden earlier. "No way!" he shouted, causing the popstar to let go. "That weasel actually did it."

"What?"

"You got the book! I paid a weasel named Duke fifty bucks to sneak it into your room. Finnick said that I just lost both the money and the book, but I always hoped…"

Gazelle stared in utter disbelief. "You sent me this book?" she said as she picked it up and showed it to the human. "This book, right here?"

Eddie nodded and said, "Like the old poet said, 'Be true to yourself.'"

The prey mammal sobbed and threw her arms around her friend. "Eddie, that book helped me out a lot. All of those poems and sonnets helped remind me of all our times together. They helped me out so much throughout my whole career. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Before Eddie could even respond, the gazelle kissed him straight on the lips, surprising him along with all of the eavesdroppers surrounding them. "Oh, I am so sorry!" Gazelle said as she tried to push herself away. "I don't know what came over me."

"I didn't mind it, if you want me to be honest," Eddie said, his face a bright ruby red.

Behind one bush, Aziza, Biyu, and Jill looked on with mixed emotions. Jill wished she had brought her celery pen to record Eddie's story with; Biyu was filled with sympathy and sadness for Eddie's situation; while Aziza felt herself filled with even more love and jealousy as she watched the display. Across the way, Nika and Lina were struggling to hold back tears, Lina doing a better job than her tigress friend. "Well," Nika whispered through her sniffles and somehow still managing a smile, "Do you like him now?"

The hyena nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak and conceding to the loss of the bet. Hiding herself in a tree overlooking the young couple, Skye's eyes watered as she felt something knot in her chest and she held her ring close to her chest. "Oh, Jack," she said, "How I miss you so much. Eddie is so much like you, my little tiger bunny. I wish you didn't make that same choice too."

Something else clicked in the back of the vixen's mind as remembered something her mate had told her a long time ago. "Crown of Anthros," she murmured as she silently made her way down the tree.

A seventh pair of eyes watched as the gazelle and human recovered from the spur of emotion. The tanuki smiled as a few tear drops made their way down her whiskers. Edward's story made Oba's heart break in half as she overheard the conversation. Her Walter would have loved the human and have moved mountains to defend him from such arrogant mammals. If she and her fox were able to have cubs, they would have prayed for a son like Eddie and loved him unconditionally. A thought struck Oba as wiped the last of the tears. This is what her purpose was, the reason for bringing the young mammal into her home: to give him a family he deserves.

Another thought caused the corners of her muzzle to turn into a devilish grin. If Eddie's father, the Chancellor, wanted him to have a First Wife, whatever that was, then by the Maker she will help Eddie get one like a true mother would for her cub. Her matchmaker gears turned as she snuck back into the mansion to set in motion a plan to accomplish her goal.

Back with the human and gazelle, both of whom were still blushing from embarrassment at the passionate kiss, a thought crossed across both of their minds. Even though the tabloids loved to create stories about Gazelle as some sort of party mammal, she never seriously dated anyone since she started her career. So the kiss that she shared with Eddie was her second real kiss.

Eddie was thinking almost the same thing. Sure, he received affectionate pecks on the cheek since he came to Zootopia, but no female has ever kissed him the same way that the gazelle had done both times. He was surprised that he wasn't permanently turning into a ruby red shade from all embarrassing scenes he had experienced today.

The diva coughed into her paw in order to break the awkward silence. "Um, perhaps we should head inside? I'm sure everyone is wondering what we are doing out here," Eddie said quietly as he stood up from his spot on the lounge chair.

"Yes," Gazelle said as she got up as well, picking up her book and placing it close to her chest.

Suddenly, the two heard a patter of feet running away and toward the mansion. "Never mind. I think they know what we were doing," Eddie said, laughing and smiling as he shook his head.

Gazelle smiled as she walked side by side with her friend. 'Maybe we can become more than friends again,' she thought as moved closer to Eddie, another smile forming on his face as they walked back toward their home.

 **Later in the evening**

Everyone sat down at the same table from last night, a full course meal prepared for all the residents of Oba's boarding home. The food was prepared by a small black Japanese bear named Moto and his staff of mice and rats who also served as the cleaning staff as well. The menu included fish and avian meats for the predators and exotic vegetables and fruits for the prey mammals, which resulted in a perfect selection for the human.

The plate in front of Eddie held mashed potatoes and grilled chicken with a side of steamed carrots. The human breathed in the smells from his food, his eyes as his is allowing his senses to filled with spices and freshness that he had not experienced in a long time. Suddenly, Eddie felt as if he was being stared at and opened his eyes to see that he indeed was. Nika was sitting to his left and Gazelle on his right, with the rest of the tenants, minus Skye, sitting on the opposite side of the long table and Oba sitting at the head. "What?" Eddie asked, confused at why most of them were looking at him.

"Nothing," Jill said as she nibbled on a baked radish, "It's just that a few of us thought that humans were predators."

"Oh," Eddie said with a chuckle. "We are actually omnivores. Though some humans like to live an entirely vegetarian lifestyle, we still need protein in our diet."

"Really?" Biyu said as she ate into plate of grilled bamboo shafts.

"Really," the human replied after swallowing his potatoes. "For our meat, we raise and breed reptiles, insects, fish and some birds. I haven't had crocodile in a long time, but I remember it tasting like a really spicy chicken. I'm told some like amphibian, but most mammals eat insects at fast food places like Kentucky Fried Crickets and such."

"Wow," Aziza said after wiping a napkin across her muzzle, "I haven't eaten at one of those in a long time. Do they still make fried tarantula like they used to?"

"I don't know for sure," Eddie said with a thoughtful grin as he remembered the fast food place near St. Francis'.

"By the way, Eddie," Oba said, "I have your licence and registration come in today."

"Already?" Lina said through a mouthful of turkey, which made it sound like "Awwedy."

"Nick has all kinds of connections at the DMV," Eddie explained, "Though I am surprised that Flash got it done so quickly. That sloth must have been working on it since late last night to get it here."

Jill let out a giggle as she remembers the story her sister told about how Nick tricked her at the Department of Mammalian Vehicles. Then she thought back to the conversation she listened to earlier that day. The lupine's ears fell down the back of her head, because for some reason she was starting to feel guilty for what she intruded on. Jill didn't know why though, since the first thing she learned in journalism is that sometimes you had to be willing to get as dirty as the criminals and corruptions you wished to expose.

Biyu continued to chew on her bamboo in a delicate manner as she reflected on what she learned about Eddie and his past. She sympathized with the human male and understood what it was like to forced away from your home because you were different. The red panda's ears twitched as she thought about how she could make Edward feel more welcome here.

"Anyway," the tanuki said, "Since our young Edward has completed his education requirements and has his authorization to work, it is time to assign him to one of you."

"Assign?" Eddie asked, a confused look across his face.

"Yes," Oba explained, "I can't expect you to drive all over Zootopia with seven mammals who have completely different errands to run and places to go. So, every week, you will be the personal chauffeur to one of the girls. That way you won't run yourself ragged by trying to take care of everyone."

"But how will one of us be selected then?" Gazelle said, Nika nodding her head in agreement to her friend's question.

The tanuki let out a sly smile as she clapped her paws together. Into the room came Moto the bear chef, along with a multicolored spinning wheel apparatus that he was pushing next to his employer. The circle of the wheel was divided into seven sections, each with their own number as well. "Under each of your plates," Oba explained as she gets down from her chair, "Is a number to corresponds with the wheel of fate. Whatever number that Eddie's arrow lands on means that he will be your driver for the next seven days. At the end of the week, we will spin again but take off the previous winner's number to be fair to the rest of you."

Eddie let out a scared chuckle, "What am I, some kind of prize on a gameshow?"

Unbeknownst to the human, the other females at the table were silently praying that they'd win for their own reasons. The tanuki smiled again as she jumps up and spins the colorful wheel. 'You might not be the prize, my dear,' Oba thought as she lands back on the floor.

The human starred in horror as he watches the flamboyant device spin. He didn't know who he should hope to be stuck with this week, but he also thought that the whole process was ridiculous. 'What have I gotten myself into?' Eddie thought to himself for the hundredth time that day.

 **There you have it folks, my latest chapter but with a subtle twist. You see, I am having trouble deciding which of the girls will our hero spend his first week as a chauffeur with, so I need my devoted readers help. On the day after I publish this chapter, I will have a poll created on my profile page to where you the readers and fans decide. Except for Gazelle, I have a special chapter planned for those two. After one week, I will take the results and create the next chapter. So please, share this story with fellow Zootopia fans, harem fanatics, and fellow furry lovers so I can create a better story for you. Thank you my lovelies and good day/night!**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Happy Thanksgiving everyone, sorry for taking so long on the update but I was going through some issues that prevented me from typing. I originally planned on making each week that Eddie spends into one chapter, but decided to split it up into two parts so as to update the story faster. I want to thank all the fans who waited patiently for this next chapter and for those who left positive comments and reviews. Onto the story then boyos and lasses**_

 _ **Btw I don't own Disney or any of its original properties**_

 _Sunday_

Eddie nervously tugged on the collar of his uniform as he waited outside of Nika's and Lina's room. Oba had presented him the clothes after the winner was announced from the ridiculous game she had set up. They consisted of a white dress shirt with a matching set of suit jacket and pants, along with a black tie and gloves. The human found a pair of dress shoes in his room after he had settled for the night.

A small chuckle escaped his lips as Eddie thought about Nika's reaction to winning the spin. When the tigress realized that her number matched the one on the wheel, she fainted and fell backwards off of the bench. Amists the wail from Aziza, Lina and Skye's laughter, and the other three female's attempts for waking Nika back up, Eddie stared in disbelief at the tanuki as she walked over and explained to him that he had to be ready for Nika at six since the tigress went to Temple in the morning.

So here he was, standing at attention like the soldiers outside the Capitol Building of Anthros as he waited for his charge to be ready at the ungodly hour. Eddie yawned, a paw over his mouth as the door behind him opened to reveal Nika. The female feline wore a black dress that went down to her ankles and a set of black wedges that made her even taller, and somehow more attractive, than she normally was. "Are you ready, Nika?" Eddie said as he tried not to stare at the tigress.

"Ye...yes, Eddie," Nika stammered as she held her paws in front of her and looked down in embarrassment.

"Shall we go then?" Eddie held out his right paw, indicating that she lead the way toward the garage.

"Of course, sorry," Nika said and walked down the hallway, the clicking of her wedges echoing as she was followed by her human chauffeur.

"So," Eddie started, his paws behind his head as he spoke "Where is this Temple we are going to?"

"It is close to Sahara Square," Nika said, turning her head to look back at him, "Not too far from the Oasis Hotel, in fact."

"Uhuh," Eddie replied, still following the giantess as she lead him down a hall that lead to the boarding house's garage, "So what religion do you practice, if you don't me asking?"

"Not at all," Nika answered as she opened a sliding door and reveal a well lit garage filled with all kinds of vehicles. "I am a Yaisuahite."

Edward grabbed a red key from a row of hooks by the door and pressed a button as he asked, "A what?"

A loud chirp echoed throughout the underground garage, revealing a small black car that was large enough for Nika to sit comfortably and for Eddie to drive safely. "A Yaisuahite," Nika replied as she walked toward the vehicle, "We follow the teachings of Yaisuah and believe that he is the Savior of all mammals."

The human frowned as he opened the back passenger door for the tigress, "I am not familiar with that faith. Then again, all religion is pretty much banned in Anthros."

"Why is that?" Nika asked as she settled into the backseat.

"The Chancellor did not want mammals to follow a higher authority than him or the government, so he restricted all forms of religious gatherings. One of Anthros' many departments is responsible for issuing permits which allowed priest and ministers to host in their own homes, but they have to submit a copy of their sermons and agree to be monitored as they deliver them to their congregation in order to receive them so that government knows that they aren't preaching anti-establishment rhetoric," Eddie explained as he closes the door and then gets into the driver's seat.

"That is awful," Nika exclaimed, a paw over her mouth in shock.

Eddie nods his head while he starts the car by pressing a button on the dash and another to open the garage doors. The human slowly pulls the vehicle out and drives onto the street as he said, "So, were you raised as a Yaisuahite?"

The tigress chuckled with mirth, "No, I converted a few years ago. My family thinks that religion is nothing more than a way for prey mammals to control us predators."

"Oh," Eddie frowned as he continue to drive down the streets toward their destination, "I am sorry to hear that."

"It isn't your fault, Eddie," Nika said with a smile, "Some mammals just don't understand and until then one shouldn't let what they say hurt you. As Yaisuah said, 'Love thy enemy, even as thy enemy curses thee.'"

The human smiled as well, enjoying the conversation he was having with Nika. For almost a half an hour, the two continued to talk about the tenants of Nika's faith until they arrived at the Yaisuahite temple. The building was a simple, square shape, with stained glass windows with depictions that Eddie couldn't make out from where he had parked. "Here we are," the human said as he turned off the car.

"Um, would you like to come inside with me?" Nika asked, her face turned down to look down at her lap as she spoke. "It's just, I don't want you to get bored while waiting for me here in the car, so I thought maybe…"

"It would be an honor," Eddie answered, which caused the tigress to look up and see that signature smile of his.

"Oh," Nika said, "Thank you."

After Eddie had gotten out and opened Nika's door, the two walked arm in arm into the temple, earning a few shocked expressions from more than a few members of the congregation. Inside the temple was a single large room without any apparent seating and decorated with beautiful tapestries covered in a strange script. The only furniture that one could see was a small podium at the other end. "Where do we sit?" Eddie asked as he looked around and noticed one of the stained windows that he tried to see from outside.

"We don't sit in chairs, if that is what you mean. Everyone kneels on the prayer mats as our priest delivers his sermon," Nika said before noticing what Edward was looking at.

The window that the human was staring at depicted a scene from the life of the founder of Nika's faith, Yaisuah. In it, the prophet laid one of his hands on the forehead of a humongous lion, to exorcise the demons that plagued and tormented the predator. Yaisuah's face was covered with a white veil and his body was dressed in an equally white robe to hide most of his features since many Yaisuahites believed that drawing or depicting the prophet's image directly was disrespectful to the Creator. What caught Eddie's attention though was that the you could clearly see what species the prophet was. "He was… a human," Eddie said as he looked closer at the hand on the lion's forehead.

Nika nodded; but before she could explain further, a loud gong rang and all of the congregation started to sit down on the individual prayer rugs with the larger mammals in the back row and the smaller ones in the front. The tigress guided the human to a spot that they could both see the podium without it being obstructed from view. Sitting on top of the podium and wearing what appeared to be a black cape was a large fox like creature that Eddie had never seen before. 'No,' Eddie thought, 'Not a fox, a fruit bat?'

To confirm Eddie's thought the bat stretched out its wings, revealing that is was wearing an orange robe over its body instead of what the human mistook its wings for. "Welcome and good morning, my flock," the bat said in a loud and comical voice.

Every mammal bowed their heads and said, "Good morning, Father Williams."

Father Williams laughed as he continued, "You know if I didn't know any better, I'd say I was a teacher in a kindergarten class rather than a priest. Say, wanna know what the difference is? Nothing, we both get in trouble for disciplining kits! HAHAHA"

"He seems like a character, doesn't he?" Eddie whispered to Nika as a few others giggled and laughed quietly.

"Yes, Father Williams definitely gives a whole new meaning to the term 'batty'," Nika whispered back.

"Anywho," the bat said as he scanned the audience in front of him, "Today, I am going to be talking to you about our Prophet's core teachings of acceptance. So please pull out your copies of the sacred texts if you have 'em, and please share with those who have not."

For the next few hours, the bat priest talked about how Yaisuah taught forgiveness and mercy through parables and how mammals today could still apply these teachings today. As the priest spoke, Eddie found his mind wandering as he tried to listened. The way that the human was kneeling was similar to his one of his meditation poses, which caused him to become more and more relaxed as the sermon dragged on. He turned his head and saw that Nika held her's down in prayer as Father Williams led a soft and calming chant. The human couldn't help but smile as he looked at his feline friend and saw how beautiful and serene she was. Suddenly, Edward felt a soft poking on his shoulder which caused him to turn his head backwards. A familiar looking and towering cape buffalo glared at him as he whispered harshly, "Bow your head, it's disrespectful if you don't."

"Huh? Oh, sorry," Eddie said as he turned back around.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the bat shouted as he flew straight up from his perch, "Alright you crazy folks, it's time for your favorite part of the service: singing and dancing!"

"What?" Eddie said as he felt his arm being pulled by the tigress as the whole congregation stood up.

Music composed of loud drums and wind instruments blared from speakers hidden in the ceiling as all of the mammals started to clap their paws in beat. Then Eddie noticed that Nika was pulling him into the center of the crowd, which had circled around the middle of the room. "Come on," Nika laughed, "You and I have to dance together."

"Huh?"

"It's part of our tradition. At the end of every sermon, we must dance and sing in praise of the Maker and for all He has done for and will do for us. And since you and I came in together, it is only proper that you and I must dance together."

The tigress stopped in the empty circle, twirling, clapping and jumping with joy, her dress flowing with her movements and beat of the music. Eddie didn't know what to do, since the only dance he knew were for formal events and dinners he went to as a kit. "Come," Nika said with a huge smile on her laugh as she realized that her dance partner hadn't joined in, "I'll teach you."

Eddie laughed as well as the tall feline pulled at him and showed him how to move with the song that was playing overhead. He noticed that he got a few disapproving looks from some of the other mammals as the human and tigress danced together; except from the cape buffalo from before, who smiled and nodded his head in approval as he danced with a female buffalo who appeared to be his mate. Not understanding or caring why the bovine was friendly, Eddie continued to dance with his charge for what felt like eternity before the music suddenly stopped as fast as it had begun. "Sad to say, my flock, it is that time on the clock," the bat flew over the heads of the mammals as he shouted, "But always remember this: Go with love in your hearts, and the light will forever shine."

"For as long as the light shines," the congregation said, "We will be close to the Divine."

"Yes, yes, oh yes!" Father Williams shouted as he landed on Eddie's shoulder.

The weight of the flying mammal threw the human off balance for a moment before he recovered and said with another of his warm smiles, "That was a lovely service, Father Williams."

"AHHHHHH!" Father Williams shouted in Eddie's ear, causing the young male to stumble in surprise. "Someone call the police! There's a giant mutant naked mole rat in my temple!"

All of the congregation murmured in confusion before the priest laughed in an effeminate voice, "Kidding! Soooo who is this handsome young mammal that you have brought with ju, Nika?"

"This is Eddie," Nika laughed as the priest flew from Eddie's shoulder and landed on her own, "My escort for the next week."

"Now Nika," Father Williams gasped, a wing placed over where heart would be, "I never thought that you of all mammals would hire an escort."

"NO!" Nika shouted, her cheeks blushing as the mammals standing around her laughed, "That is not what I meant. I mean, he is my chaperone!"

"Oh? With the way you two were shaking it up, I'd of thought he was more than that," the bat whispered in the tigress's ear, a smile across his face as he watched the feline turn a deeper shade of red.

Edward was laughing along with the rest of the mammal's as he spoke, "Well, I must say that I am glad to have joined you all today. I really enjoyed it."

The herd of mammals slowly made their way to the exit, but not before the water buffalo from before walked over and greeted Nika and Eddie. "Ms. Khan," he said in a kind and gentle voice, "It was nice to see you dancing again. We all have not seen you do that since your baptismal ceremony."

"Thank you, Chief Bogo," Nika said as she motioned with her paw, "This is Edward Jackson, by the way."

"Chief Bogo?" Eddie asked.

Nika nodded and said, "Eddie this is Chief Bogo, head of Precinct 1 and one of the most honest mammals I know. Chief Bogo actually introduced me to my faith a little over a year ago and helped me through a rather difficult time."

"The Maker helped you, Nika, not me," the buffalo said humbly, "I merely voice His message."

The tigress smiled, "That may very well be, but don't be selling yourself short."

"I doubt that old Big Horns here was ever 'short', my dear," Father Williams said as he flew once more and landed on the buffalo's right horn.

Bogo snorted before he said, "It was good to see you again this week, Ms Khan, the missus and I hope that you will have another blessed one as well."

"Thank you, Chief Bogo," Nika replied.

"And you," the buffalo turned his head, causing the priest to almost fall off, "Take good care of her and do your job."

"Yes, Sir," Eddie body stiffened and straightened at the tone in the larger mammal's voice, reminding him of a certain instructor he knew back at St. Francis's.

As the tigress and the human walked away, the bat priest whispered to Bogo, "Do you think the human knows how bad she wants him?"

Bogo let out a small smile, "I doubt it. That human is as dense as Hopps was about that fox before Wilde asked her out. Besides, I understand that humans don't consciously smell pheromones like most mammals so it might be a while before he finds out."

The bat chuckled, "Yeah, but I think the young buck likes her too. i just hope he doesn't follow the traditional human customs of marriage."

The buffalo nodded in agreement, "As long as he doesn't hurt her in the process, that is all that matter.

Meanwhile, as Nika was getting into the backseat, a text message appeared on her cell. She read it, a groan escaping her lips after she finished. "Is everything ok?" Eddie asked as he got in the driver's seat.

"No," the tigress answered, "It's my parents, they want to meet up with me tomorrow for lunch."

 _Monday_

The silence surrounded the restaurant table like a thick blanket as four large felines sat and stared at one another. An elderly tiger in a black business suit tapped a paw digit impatiently as he waited for his drink to be refilled. His mate Namba, a tigress wearing a green and golden sari with intricate floral pattern sewn with black thread, quietly sipped her iced tea from a small white cup. The third feline was a tiger who sat next to his sister and wore a black polo and jeans, arms crossed as he glared at Nika with curious eyes. Nika wore a blue and violet sari with a pattern that was similar to her mother's but was sewn with gold thread instead. "Where is that ape with my coffee?!" Nika's father, Shere Khan growled impatiently.

Nika flinched at her father's remark, a frown forming on her face as she kept herself from defending Eddie when her brother, Kublai, said, "Why are we here, Pops?"

Shere Khan glared at his son for a moment before saying exasperated sigh, "Very well, we might as well get this over with."

The younger tigress looked at her father with confusion as she heard a kind voice beside her say, "Here is your coffee, Mister Khan. I apologise for the wait, but I wanted to make sure it was as fresh as possible."

Standing beside her and dressed with an apron around his waist and wearing a black vest over a white shirt was Eddie. After Nika had received the message, the two had went back home and spent the rest of the day talking about Yaisuahism and its history. The human was so interested that at the end of the evening, the tigress loaned him her copy of the Teachings so he could learn as much as he could. They also talked about how to deal with her family and she told Eddie a little about her brother, who was a professional mix martial artist, and her business tycoon father. Nika's mother was a kind older female, but was very much set in her ways when it came to cultural traditions. "We do it not because we believe, but because we must," was her favorite saying.

"About time, ape," Shere said, holding his cup up to be filled with the fresh brew.

When Nika and Eddie had arrived almost an hour before everyone else, the human asked the manager of the restaurant to allow him to personally serve the Khan family's table so as the make sure that it went as smoothly as possible. After confirming that whatever tips would be given to the staff and that the human would take any blame, the manager agreed and handed Eddie an apron and uniform. The human chauffeur/waiter poured Nika a glass of ice tea, just as Nika's brother arrived.

Kublai Khan was just as tall as his sister, but where Nika had the form of a dancer, Kublai was entirely made out of muscles. The tiger brother glared at the human chauffeur in contempt as he placed his order of club soda, before giving his sister a warm hug. "How have you been, Nika?"

Nika said fine as Eddie returned with Kublai's soda and then stood beside her to wait for the rest of her family to arrive. After noticing how close the human was standing to his sister, Kublai said, "You can go serve other tables, monkey. We'll call when we want something."

"Kublai!" Nika shouted, which made her brother stare at her in disbelief, "This is Edward, my…."

Before Nika could finish, her parents walked in and greeted their children as they all sat down at the table. Now, as Shere Khan takes a drink from his coffee, Eddie stood next to Nika seat to awaits for the feline family to place their orders.

"Now then," Shere said, sighing in delight at how good the warm drink had tasted to him, "Nika, we are here to discuss your well being."

The young tigress groaned, "Father, not this again."

"Yes, 'this again," Namba replied before her husband could speak, "You are almost thirty years old, Premee, soon you will be too old to find a suitable mate."

"Mother!" Nika shouted, embarrassed that her had said that in front of Edward.

"Your mother is right," Shere said, after another sip of his delicious coffee. "She and I were wed right out of highschool, and your brother married Tiva during his first year of college. You should of found someone by now, even with your desire to be a public defender. Are there no good tiger lawyers in public service these days?"

"Because if there isn't, your father and I know a sweet male who just finished his residency," Namba jumped in, "And don't worry, we made sure he is a Yaishuaite like you so that way you two won't clash over religious issues."

"Or maybe you prefer a softer touch. There is a lovely tigress who works in my office who just broke up with her girlfriend. She works in the research and development department of my company, so I know for sure how much she makes a year."

Eddie felt sorry for Nika as he watched the tigress be barraged by parents. He felt that he should say something to help his friend, but didn't quite know how. "More coffee, please, and try to give me the same batch, " Shere said, holding his cup up for Eddie to see.

"Right away, sir," Eddie went back to the kitchen to grab a pot of fresh coffee to refill the tiger's cup with.

"Father, Mother, I appreciate that you don't want me to be alone, but the reason I don't want you to help me is…. because I've already found someone," Nika said, her head turned down toward her lap as she lied to her family.

"Really?" Kublai said, arms still crossed as he looked at his sister with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Namba said, squealing with delight at the news, "Why didn't you tell us this, Premee?"

"Yes." Shere said, smiling warmly at his daughter, "Who is this young tiger?"

"Actually, he isn't a tiger, Daddy, or a feline for that matter," Nika said cautiously.

"Oh? Is he a bear or a wolf?" Namba asked, still excited over her daughter finally dating someone.

"I'd prefer he wasn't to be honest," Shere said, his arms crossed in annoyance, "But if he makes my little princess happy, then I guess I can put up with it."

"No, he is a…"

"Here you are, Mister Khan. And Mrs. Khan, I have a some more tea for you as well if you would like a refill," Eddie returned with two pitchers of drinks and began to serve both of Nika's parents.

"Father, Mother, Kublai, I'd like you all to meet Edward," Nika said and grabbed Eddie by the arm after he finished pouring the drinks and setting the pitchers down on the table. "My mangetar."

All three tigers stared in disbelief at the fourth as she held the human's arm tighter as she pulled him closer. "I'm sorry," Shere said after shaking his head, anger flashing in his eyes, "Did you just say that this...human is your mangetar?"

"Now, dear, don't get upset," Namba said, patting her husband on the arm to try and calm him,"I am sure Nika is just joking, right Nika? Nika?"

Nika shook her head before doing something that she had never done in her life: pulled the male next to her even closer and placing a kiss on his lips, which surprised both her family and the human. The tigress was also surprised at how good the human tasted, not in a predatory way, but almost like she was tasting her favorite flower or dessert. Eddie was too shocked and confused to react, but decided to play along once the initial shock wore off. Nika tasted to him like warm milk and honey, a lot like Gazelle in fact now that he thought about it.

"No, Mother," Nika said, after pulling away from the human who had given her first kiss, "Edward and I have been dating for awhile. I didn't want to tell everybody because I knew this is how you would react. But, I don't want to be set up on dates and not be faithful to him."

After a few tense and awkward moments, Kublai broke the silence by asking, "So, ape, how did you meet my sister and when did you two decide to get engaged?"

"Engaged!" Eddie thought and looked at Nika with a confused look, but was given a pleading stare from the tigress instead. "Oh, no," he thought as he straightened up and started to quickly come up with a story to help his tigress 'fiancee,' "Thank the Creator, Nick taught me everything he knew."

"Well," Eddie said with a warm smile aimed at the parents, "We had just recently met...

 **Duh duh dun! Drama ensues as the plot thickens. Be prepared to see how far Nika goes to keep up her lie, Edward having the fight of his life, and the other girls' reactions when they hear the news! Hopefully I will update soon and I apologise for whatever wait you will have. Good day/night!**


	11. Update

**Update April 22 2018**

 **I'm back boyos and lasses! Sorry for the long wait. I pray that you will forgive me and understand. For the past couple years, I have been battling depression, financial strain and wedding plans. The last of which I am still dealing with. Anyway, I wanted to let all my followers who are still interested in little old me that I plan on writing a book, or possible series, inspired by my fanfiction. Obviously I will edit out and change the setting as well as character names etc. to avoid a lawsuit from the Head Mouse. I have started a page that will be launched once I edit the first few chapters. Be on the lookout for my user name and show your support! The launch of my page will be within the next month after the date above. When it does, I will paste link on this profile. Happy creating my fellow writers!**


	12. Chapter 12

Finally got my set up my loyal followers. I hope you like the story and I welcome any and all suggestions. Remember any assistance you can donate is worth it, and I promise to give you the best tale I can provide. Updates and edits will be made weekly and biweekly depending on the chapter and what goes on in my life. Thank you all for you glorious patience. p.a.t.r.e.o.n com / Jackoffable and pastebins link is pastebindotcom /BUcwf07H


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